Submitted Advice
Unintended Consequences of Standardized Testing for Special Education
Standardized testing has grown increasingly popular since No Child Left Behind was developed, but it seams that with all of their good intentions, the developers of NCLB failed to think about the unintended consequences of implementing the program for special needs students and their teachers. As a future teacher, I am in support of holding teachers accountable and making sure that students are learning necessary content, but I feel that standardized testing fails to accurately measure the current levels of performance and academic strides that students with special needs make. If teachers are going to be held accountable for their students’ performance on standardized tests, then I feel that it is necessary for students’ performance to be determined in other forms. Standardized tests fail to measure students’ performance on necessary life skills, which in many special education classrooms, is the main focus of instruction. In addition, I feel that teachers should be held accountable, but they should be rewarded for improvements that their students make, even if the improvements still fail to get the student at grade level or above. A student with special needs at the secondary level may only read at a third grade level, but if a teacher is successful, the student may finish the school year reading at the fifth grade level. No, the student is not reading on grade level, but the teacher should be rewarded for the improvements that the student did make. Increasing two reading levels in one school year is considered a great success, even if it is not meeting or exceeding levels on a standardized test. Basing a teacher’s effectiveness off of a standardized test opens the door for many problems and forces their students to take tests that may not be appropriate in relationship to their present level of performance.
This post was submitted by Chelsea Jaquet.
School Funding
The one major difficulty I see with our public school system centers on the financial problems of many districts and funding inequities among many of them. I am concerned with the financial status of my school because the students in my classroom need to feel that they are important and that they are worthwhile. In today’s society we tell children that they must attend school and that we value them. Yet, we do not necessarily show them that we value them if you look at the funding levels of the public school. We spend annually $8,560 per student in Oregon, $5,300 annually per student in Florida, and $5,734 annually per student in Illinois. There are significant differences in funding among the fifty states. On average, local school district’s funds are 65% from local sources, 27% from state funding, and 8% federal monies. In Illinois, this compares to the funding rate for prisons, which is done at an annual rate of $21,000 annually per inmate. Schools are still largely funded by local property taxes and there can be great disparity among districts within a state. School districts located in areas with higher property values have higher funding levels than districts with lower property values. Many times they have the ability to offer specialized programs and curriculums because of their funding levels. Very often students in districts with lower property values are the ones who have the most acute need for a well-funded education. State and local sources do not always level out this disparity. Additionally many times there are federal and state mandates placed upon schools without funding. Schools are left to work budgets even more to meet these unfunded mandates. The consequence is that classes of forty students are housed in rooms that were meant for thirty. These students who don’t have seats or books in do not feel that they matter, while students in the suburbs have adequate facilities. If we are unsuccessful in meeting the needs of these “extra” students, there is a chance we will continue to fund them via the prison system. They need someone to care enough to help with the financing for adequate books and seats, which can come from the federal government. They need our president to lead them into a better future where they will feel as if they matter, and can learn.
This post was submitted by Melissa Neill.
Merit Pay
I am currently a junior in the elementary education program at Western Illinois University. I am in an educational law and policy course in which we have been learning about merit pay. In this course we have talked about President Obama’s speech on merit pay and how it could help schools. I agree that we can’t base teacher’s performance solely on the standardized test scores of their students. You can have one teacher whose students are learning a lot and seem be at a higher-level but don’t do well on tests, when at the same time, the teacher down the hall drags his or her feet through-out the day and happens to have students who are great test takers but are not learning much. In most cases “the teacher down the hall” may be getting the higher pay because his or her students have good test scores. It is not fair that “the teacher down the hall” gets more money for doing barely any work than the other teacher who clearly wants to empower his or her students. It is hard to pick out a “good” teacher based solely along the lines of standardized test scores. If that is the case, we are going to keep the “bad” teachers and eventually wean out the “good” teachers when it should be the other way around. I agree with Obama when he talked about not only raising the base pay for teachers since they are underpaid, but I also agree that there should be compensation for the teachers that are putting forth an extra effort. By basing merit pay on the teachers’ performance instead of the students’ performance on standardized tests, I think that that will help to wean out the so called “bad” teachers. At the same time however, how do you determine “good” teacher performance from “bad” teacher performance? Where is the line drawn? It is hard to decipher the two at times because different people have different opinions of what makes a “good” teacher and a “bad” teacher.
This post was submitted by Jennifer Rapp.
Highly Qualified Teachers in the Classroom
The advice that I have for President Obama is to get highly qualified teachers in the school system and weed out the bad teachers. I went through a public school system and saw first hand teachers that should not be in the system. Although it is hard to find a good way to evaluate teachers, I feel it is something that should be given more interest in the current administration. The United States is dropping in its ranking of education against other countries in the world. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States was 18th among the 36 nations that were examined in 2008. The organization stated that at the top is South Korea where 93 percent of high school students graduate on time compared with the United States where 75 percent receive their diplomas. The United States is one of the strongest nations in the world but yet we are dropping in our education ranking. This is only going to cause problems later because it will affect our economy, which is already in jeopardy. If our students are not getting a proper education and finishing school, then we will not have fully education people working in our country. In order to stop this from happening there needs to be good teachers in the classroom. I feel that teachers should be evaluated each year and given different incentives for doing a good job. The teachers could be at different ranks. In an elementary classroom, this same idea is used. Every student starts at the green line and when they show bad behavior they move down to yellow, then red, and then are sent to the office. This same idea can be used with teachers. If a teacher is getting good reviews, good test scores, and going above and beyond, they should be at the highest pillar. The teacher can go down from there based on the same criteria. However, they also can work their way back up. If teachers realize where they actually stand, they will be able to work harder to make sure the students are getting the best education possible. This will help weed out the bad teacher because if they are not reaching the standards that are set for them, then they need to be removed from the classroom. This is just an idea that I have, like I said before it is hard to find the best way to go about this issue, but we need to start somewhere.
This post was submitted by Marci Patterson.
Vouchers
Dear President Obama,
I’m currently an Art Education student at Western Illinois University, and thought my schooling there have been many issues that have struck a cord with me. Vouchers specifically are something that I strongly believe would improve the lives of young Americans everywhere. I believe that the choice to attend any school you wish is an important step in creating intelligent productive members of our society. Having a child’s educational funds “attached” to them no matter what school they attend will help created a positive competitiveness between schools. Vouchers will help give school administrators the push to make their schools the best that they can be. It is also important to give students the same amount of money no matter what socio-economic status they come from, I think this is something that could be possible if there were vouchers.
If the idea of vouchers were enforced it would give parents control in the futures of their children. I don’t think that a child’s future should be at the mercy of where the rail road tracks lie. The kids on the north side of the tracks go to the good school, and the kids on the south side of the tracks go to the bad school, it just doesn’t make sense.
With the introduction of vouchers the quality of teachers would also have to increase for the simple reason that if the educators in a school are not teaching effectively, then enrollment in that school will most likely decrease. So the importance to hire new, more qualified teachers to attract more students would be something that the school systems would have to do. The idea of schools “competing” for students will be a very good thing. I think with the addition of vouchers to our schools we will be on our way to a much stronger educational system.
Sincerly,
Kathryn
This post was submitted by Kathryn.
Cyberbullying - Create a National Policy
Dear Mr. President,
I am a Senior Elementary Education major at Western Illinois University. During this last semester before student teaching, my peers and I are enrolled in an Educational Law and Policy class in which we have learned about the different sides of the many issues that face teachers today. One issue that I feel strongly about is Cyberbullying. We all know that the attack of another is wrong so why is nothing happening on the national level to stop this. Some States are acting on the issue and requiring their state schools to create policy for students who are bullied and those who are the bully.
All of this is wonderful but only SOME schools are jumping on the bandwagon. Why must we wait for more of our nation’s States to join in while our students suffer through the constant torment? This is why I propose to you: Create a policy that requires the entire nation to act.
After researching this topic for my Educational Law and Policy class I know that the issue has two sides to consider. While creating a law that all schools must construct a policy seems like the best idea, others may feel that their right to free speech is being encroached. My question to those individuals and you, Mr. President, is this: Should online speech be considered and valued as regular speech? If physical and emotional bullying are considered punishable then why not cyberbullying? And better yet, have these new technologies distorted the balance of power between the right to speak and the right to be left alone?
Everyday our students come to school with something on their young minds. I feel that school should be a safe haven for students and it won’t be if they are followed by the constant torment from home. A new policy should be put in place that states: If the student’s school environment is affected by cyberbullying, even if it occurred off school grounds, then the school still has the right to take action.
If national policy seems to be impossible at the moment, please urge the states without policies on cyberbullying to create one. Cyberbullying affects more students that ever imaginable and it is our job to keep them safe.
Thank you for your consideration of this issue that affects so many of our students.
Sincerely,
Mallory Pratscher
This post was submitted by Mallory Pratscher.
English Language Learners and Unanswered Questions
Dear President Obama,
Over the past four years as an undergraduate English Education major, I have learned a great deal about education as well as laws, policies, and various educational systems. While it seems that the majority of laws and policies have the best interests of students in mind, the largest problem among students and educational policy that I have encountered does not come as the result of a current policy, but from the lack thereof.
From my experiences in the classroom, the greatest issue I have encountered, one that has affected teachers, administrators, and students, is the lack of policy regarding English Language Learners. Although there may be stringent ELL guidelines in place in larger or more affluent school districts, my personal experience showed a need for proper implementation of guidelines regarding ELL student placement, testing, grading, and classroom strategies.
I believe that educational policy in our country needs to be altered to meet the growing diversity of our students. I feel very strongly that all student can learn, but also that the lack of policies and guidelines currently in place for ELL students do nothing but cause increased confusion among teachers and administrators and non-conducive learning environments for students.
For my clinical teaching experience this semester, I was placed in a rural middle school with approximately three- hundred students. During my short time in the school, I became aware of the frustrations of and lack of resources available to regular education teachers responsible for teaching students with limited English proficiency. One student from Macedonia was new to the school and had a seemingly unknown level of English proficiency. Although the student seemed to communicate with classmates, he was not vocal or participatory in the classroom. The classroom teacher was left with few resources and the question of how to grade the English Language Learner. Would it be against school or state guidelines to simply give the student a “P” for pass? Should she be grading the student on effort? Because no guidelines or policies were implemented, the teacher was left with many frustrations and unanswered questions.
In another example that I experienced at the same school, teachers and administrators were faced with placing two English Language Learners from Korea less than one week prior to Illinois state mandated ISAT testing. The arrival of these bright students with limited English proficiency posed many questions for the teachers and administrators. Although the main question under consideration was whether or not these students were required to take the ISAT tests the following week, a plethora of others arose along the way. The students, who were siblings, had taken eighth grade level math at their home school, so should they be placed in seventh grade math due to the language barrier? Should they be placed in eight grade math and repeat the year? Or, should they be placed in ninth grade math where they may or may not excel? Questions like these, among others, demonstrate the frustrations and issues that arise in schools across the country when faced with the challenge of how best to educate English Language Learners to help them reach their fullest potential.
I hope that you will consider my policy implementation suggestion and that the examples I have illustrated will provide a glimpse into some of the issues facing a rapidly growing number of teachers and schools on a daily basis. I feel that my suggestion is valuable because the issue of English Language Learner education is not one that is isolated among specialized ELL teachers or Special Education teachers, but one that all teachers face. I believe that new policies need to be implemented for English Language Learners to guide their education, provide consistency, and to give teachers and administrators the answers they so desperately need.
Thank you for your consideration.
This post was submitted by Abigail Klokkenga.
Standardized Tests for Special Education Students
As a pre-service teacher, studying in special education, I have some sincere concerns about the future of our schools in America, as well as for my future students. I began my course of studies, believing that I had chosen one of the most important careers one can choose. I thought this career would be a chance to promote positive thinking and learning, but after a recent experience with the Illinois State Achievement Tests, my goal as become unclear.
While I do not suggest the dismissal of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), I do suggest taking a look at the law, and making some radical changes. As a pre-service teacher, I recently participated in the Illinois State Achievement Tests. I suggest to you, Mr. President, to sit with a special education student, read them the tests, and watch as they bewilderedly fight their way through answer after answer. Their lack in ability to achieve on these standardized achievement tests is not due to laziness or lack of academic studies, but disabilities that interfere with their abilities to sort through questions, and in most cases, study at grade level. While it is always the goal of a special education teacher to “catch” his or her student up to grade level, when the reality is the resources and funding for programs and technology that would make this possible are simply not available. I left that week of testing feeling absolutely defeated, for my students and with my students.
I suggest to you to allow special education students to take these tests at the current grade level which they are working. These students spend day in and day out struggling through their schoolwork. Teachers spend hours planning lessons and a curriculum that will hopefully allow for some success on these tests. The truth of the matter is, most of these students, regardless of the hours spent studying or planning, will not achieve anything on these exams. By asking special education students to take grade level tests, when they are clearly not capable of achieving at these levels, and using these scores to determine whether a school or teacher is failing or successful, we are blatantly ignoring the fact that the statistics yielded by these tests show nothing more than a student who simply filled in the bubbles. We are not gaining anything from forcing special education students to take tests upon which they are unable to achieve. We are simply adding to the multitude of frustration most of these students experience everyday in their academic careers. Instead of gaining knowledge about the school or the teacher, we are taking away self-esteem from our students each time we ask them to take a test they are not capable of completing.
This post was submitted by Kelli Cecchetti.
Classroom Discipline and Management
One area of educational policy that has been lacking over the years is classroom discipline and management. As a college student and future teacher I believe it would be in the best interest of our educational system to require coursework in classroom discipline and management. This topic is “touched on” in many courses but is never examined or practiced “in depth” until a person begins student teaching.
This semester I have been taking a course in educational law. While the course has pointed out very important concepts and skills it has not prepared me to know exactly what I can and cannot do in the classroom. I have several friends and family that are teachers or administrators and each has told me that the number one item that can cost me a job in education is poor classroom discipline and management skills. If practicing educators know this it true, then why don’t the college preparation programs do something to assist?
To help prospective teachers everywhere it would be a good idea to direct some federal dollars toward the universities for teacher preparation programs. Specifically, money should be allocated for the development and implementation of research and coursework that targets classroom discipline and management.
We all know how important No Child Left Behind has become in school districts. It should be the number one goal of teachers and principals to have each student achieving to his or her maximum. However, if teachers are not equipped with all of the tools to direct, collaborate, reward, manage, and control a group of twenty five students, then we may never get close the laudable goal of having every child meeting or exceeding standards by 2014.
My sister teaches in an urban school in the Midwest. She sees students without great role models, fathers, and mothers each day. Some of her neediest children do not have the structure at home to help them face life each day. These children rely on quality teachers to lead them out of despair and on to a place called, hope. I hope you will consider my suggestion to improve our nation’s schools by helping universities research and teach how to be better equipped in the classroom.
This post was submitted by Nicole Bute.
Early Childhood Programs
As a future educator, I strongly encourage your administration to make a commitment to improving education policies that support educators as well as students and communities. Specifically, I endorse your plan to invest in zero to five early childhood education. Research states that early experiences shape whether a child’s brain develops strong skills for learning, behavior, and success. Thus, I believe investing in early childhood education will improve the achievement gap as every child will have a “good start”.
Investing in early childhood programs during the infant and toddler years is particularly important. Without a strong foundation for learning, children will be behind before they reach kindergarten. Thus, the time has come to put America’s children first by investing in your comprehensive plan which will provide critical supports to young children and their parents.
To ensure children arrive at school ready to learn, I believe in expanding as well as increasing the funding early educational programs such as Head Start. This program emphasizes the development of children from birth to age three and provides services to at-risk children such as early interventions, vision and health screenings as well as disability resources. Thus, these programs enhance the development of infants and toddlers as well as promote healthy family functioning. It is evident these programs improve children’s ability to learn and therefore should be fully funded and available to those children whom have the greatest need. In addition, I believe it is necessary for all states to adopt pre-school programs that provide parents with the opportunity to educate their children. All children should have access to educational programs that promote development socially as well as cognitively and intellectually. In order for children to have early educational opportunities, state governments should mandate programs that support learning and development. Early educational programs ensure children have the knowledge as well as skills necessary to arrive at school ready to learn.
As early childhood programs have benefits for America’s children, there are also benefits for America’s economy. For example, investing in educational programs decreases the need for special education services, increases graduation as well as employment rates, reduces crime and the use of the public welfare system, and contributes to better health. Thus, I truly hope you uphold your commitment to investing in early childhood programs as they have the potential to ensure success and productivity among our nation.
Heather J. Knowles
This post was submitted by Heather Knowles.
