As the proud parent of a member of the HS Graduating Class of 2019 and a proud teacher of the HS Graduating Class of 2019 I have one request...Stop with the College Acceptance Banners!!!! We have all seen them in every school proudly displayed. In most schools, sadly including the one I currently call my home, it is the largest single banner displayed all year. It is meant to proudly display all of the higher education institutions that have graciously accepted applications from the hard-working students of the graduating class. Schools display these banners with pride and boast about some of the institutions that are listed. We post these banners in areas of the school with the highest traffic to ensure as many current students, parents, teachers, staff, and any visitors to campus can see. I do have to give credit here to the High Schools, specifically the counselors, that make sure every institution that sends an acceptance makes their way onto the banner. It isn't easy as there are usually hundreds listed, depending on the size of the graduating class.
Why do we make these banners? Is this how we can best brag and boast about our students? Is this a tool the school uses to measure its success? It is a recruiting tool for some schools? Depending on who you ask, the answer to any/all of these questions may be YES, To those that answer YES, I wonder if they are the same individuals that say we have to stop the competition amongst students/families when it comes to applying to Colleges & Universities? We cannot stop the competition if we are the ones breeding the competition.
Think about it for a minute. How much did you celebrate this year when a student came to you and said: "I just got accepted into (fill in any US News Top 100 College/University)!!!" I am sure there were enthusiastic congratulations, high fives, maybe a hug, and then probably a few "Did you hear ___ got accepted into ___?" in the lunch/faculty room. Did you have the same reaction when a student said: "I was just accepted into Hometown Community College!!!"? Probably not. Why? Because we inadvertently breed competition when it comes to College & University acceptances. With one of the most celebrated ways being the yearly Acceptance Banners.
Don't get me wrong, I love hearing about every acceptance that my seniors tell me every year. I get excited for them when they tell me. On the personal side, I loved seeing my son's face light up when he read an acceptance email from the schools he applied to. I also see where we are missing the boat on this whole amazing part of our students' educational journey. We do not give the full power to them. Instead, we give it to the institutions. How? By putting their names on the Acceptance Banners.
Take the power back, give it to the ones that have worked year after year to finally have the power of a choice that may change the rest of their lives. For some, this choice may be the first choice that they have been given when it comes to their education. Give the power to our students. Change the entire wording on the banners. It's simple. We currently give all of the power to the Colleges & Universities but forget that the ones who hold more power are our students. Change the words and by doing so the meaning of the banners from "College & University Acceptances" to "Colleges & Universities Accepted by Our Graduates." It is a subtle change in wording but a massive shift of power. The power will now lie in the hands of our students and not with any institution. This shift will focus on the graduates and not names of schools. It's time to stop giving all of the power of choice to institutions and give it to our students. Show our students that they matter. Show them how much we care. Above all, show them how much power they truly have.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Friday, February 15, 2019
"I gotcha!" Assessments. What's the point?
As educators, we all try to work a twist or two into our assessments. We cover material in class. We formatively assess that material and give feedback on the progress made toward understanding those learning targets being assessed. Then we summatively assess these targets. I understand we cannot simply change a word here or there, or change the numbers, or ask the same questions to write another essay about for these summatives. This is where the twists come into play. I get it. I really do. In my math classes, I may change the given or sought after information or ask them to work the process backward. Maybe in literature, the assessment item refers to one of the secondary characters and not the main character or main plot. Or instead of writing about the book they finished reading, ask them to write their own ending. These are twists. They are not "I gotcha!" moments.
These subtle adjustments are not meant to stump the students. They are not about things they have not been exposed to yet. They are not trick questions. They are intended to extend the students' learning and understanding of a topic/concept. In many cases, they are a vital part of the assessment. They allow the teacher to determine which students can just regurgitate information and which students truly understand what they were taught. They also are a time for the teacher to reflect on their teaching to see if they are making clear to their students all of the connections they are intending them to make leading up to said assessment.
So, what is the difference between a twist and an "I gotcha!" assessment item? The difference is drastic. First, no student should ever go into an assessment not knowing what they are going to be assessed on within the assessment. That is just plain wrong. However, many of my friends and colleagues argue with me that they cannot tell their students what is going to be on the assessment because then it will not be a...this is their words, not mine...a "surprise." WHAT THE WHAT??!!! Why are we trying to surprise students? I thought the entire purpose of an assessment was to gauge what has been learned and what is still in progress. Where do surprises fit into that line of thinking? Nowhere that I can find. Second, why do some teachers feel they need to put items on an assessment that they have not taught their students? How is that even fair? Maybe at our next faculty meeting, when contracts are coming up, we should tell everyone that they will be assessed on their teaching pedagogy but then give them a Calculus assessment instead. How many teachers would be completely outraged that their contract was being measured by something for which they were not prepared? I would wager more than half. This is exactly what we are doing by assessing students, and reporting out as part of their grade, on information that they have not been exposed to at the time of the assessment. Third, and maybe the biggest diffference of all, is that the only ones excited about the "I gotcha!" assessment items are the teachers that are trying to trick their students. I honestly have heard teachers get excited about none of their students being able to do their "I gotcha!" problem/question/task on their assessment. If you know, or even have a hunch, that none of your students are going to be able to reach the level of proficiency you are looking for in an assessment item, why put it on the assessment unless you are ultimately trying to trick your students? Again, unfair in every way.
Another "I gotcha!" moment that I don't understand is multiple assessments for classes that meet on opposite days. On this one, I sort of get the rationale. Sometimes. What I don't get is the rationale that Student A is going to tell Student B what was on the assessment. My retort to this is that if Student A can memorize your entire assessment, tell this verbatim to Student B, Student B is able to memorize what Student A has said and then produce it again verbatim for your assessment on the next day...isn't that learning? Either learning is going on there or your assessment is not a very quality assessment.
In closing, my thoughts are simple. Why are we trying to catch students and show them how much they don't know when we are trying to assess what they do know? Stop trying to back students into an "I gotcha!" moment. Focus on learning and making good humans even better. Period.
These subtle adjustments are not meant to stump the students. They are not about things they have not been exposed to yet. They are not trick questions. They are intended to extend the students' learning and understanding of a topic/concept. In many cases, they are a vital part of the assessment. They allow the teacher to determine which students can just regurgitate information and which students truly understand what they were taught. They also are a time for the teacher to reflect on their teaching to see if they are making clear to their students all of the connections they are intending them to make leading up to said assessment.
So, what is the difference between a twist and an "I gotcha!" assessment item? The difference is drastic. First, no student should ever go into an assessment not knowing what they are going to be assessed on within the assessment. That is just plain wrong. However, many of my friends and colleagues argue with me that they cannot tell their students what is going to be on the assessment because then it will not be a...this is their words, not mine...a "surprise." WHAT THE WHAT??!!! Why are we trying to surprise students? I thought the entire purpose of an assessment was to gauge what has been learned and what is still in progress. Where do surprises fit into that line of thinking? Nowhere that I can find. Second, why do some teachers feel they need to put items on an assessment that they have not taught their students? How is that even fair? Maybe at our next faculty meeting, when contracts are coming up, we should tell everyone that they will be assessed on their teaching pedagogy but then give them a Calculus assessment instead. How many teachers would be completely outraged that their contract was being measured by something for which they were not prepared? I would wager more than half. This is exactly what we are doing by assessing students, and reporting out as part of their grade, on information that they have not been exposed to at the time of the assessment. Third, and maybe the biggest diffference of all, is that the only ones excited about the "I gotcha!" assessment items are the teachers that are trying to trick their students. I honestly have heard teachers get excited about none of their students being able to do their "I gotcha!" problem/question/task on their assessment. If you know, or even have a hunch, that none of your students are going to be able to reach the level of proficiency you are looking for in an assessment item, why put it on the assessment unless you are ultimately trying to trick your students? Again, unfair in every way.
Another "I gotcha!" moment that I don't understand is multiple assessments for classes that meet on opposite days. On this one, I sort of get the rationale. Sometimes. What I don't get is the rationale that Student A is going to tell Student B what was on the assessment. My retort to this is that if Student A can memorize your entire assessment, tell this verbatim to Student B, Student B is able to memorize what Student A has said and then produce it again verbatim for your assessment on the next day...isn't that learning? Either learning is going on there or your assessment is not a very quality assessment.
In closing, my thoughts are simple. Why are we trying to catch students and show them how much they don't know when we are trying to assess what they do know? Stop trying to back students into an "I gotcha!" moment. Focus on learning and making good humans even better. Period.
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