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Why all the testing?

Have you ever gone to McDonald’s and “super-sized” your meal? Of course you have, but why? Did you think about “super-sizing” before you walked into the restaurant? That was probably the last thing on your mind. But all it took was the girl at the counter asking just one simple question: “Would you like to ‘super-size’ your meal?” Why do they ask that question? It is no accident. They have been carefully trained to do so using a script, because scripting works!

“Will that be a medium or large drink?” I ordered medium drinks for years (because of scripting) until I finally asked if a “small” was an option. Apparently there is. “Would you like cheese on that hamburger?” Now that you mention it, cheese sounds pretty good! Do you think these small extra sales add up over the course of a year? Of course they do, and that is why scripting is such an important and integral part of any business, big or small.

It is also how all professionals run their offices so successfully. Call any office to reschedule an appointment, and they will use almost the same script whether it is for a doctor, lawyer or dentist. They do this because scripting works, and it puts forth a type of “professionalism” and confidence for the person seeking help. It is this type of scripting that is absent in education, but could help us in so many ways if we were to adopt this simple, but effective, business protocol.

I understand that using a script, or “scripting,” will not be easy for many of the “that’s not the way I do it,” teachers. It may not be an easy learning curve for some, but remember, that while change is good, it’s not always easy. When calling home, we have a message to bring – we have direction. But how do we get there? We need to know how to communicate our idea to others. We need to know what to say.

We could use the “I am so sorry to be calling you” opening. This immediately removes any authority from the teacher and making him or her wrong for calling home, because they are beginning with an apology. I am sorry. Parents do not want to hear you are sorry. They want to know you are the authority.

We could use the “I just want to begin by telling you that Jimmy is a great student and I really love having him in my class.” Anything negative you say after this will obviously be a lie, because you just said how great Jimmy is. Which is it, great, or is he difficult? You come across as disingenuous.

Or we could use a script – to be memorized – to guide us through what to say with each call we make, until we own it. For those who have never used a script before, the process may seem phony and rehearsed. They would be half right – it is rehearsed, but never phony. Some might say, “I just say something different every time I make a call.” Too bad, because the pros don’t. For those teachers who are just “winging it,” I submit there are two types of phone calls: positive and negative. Positive calls are easy, though some teachers get too carried away and chat as if speaking with their high school BFF. Remember, not all calls to that parent are going to be positive or require a friendly tone. Negative calls, on the other hand, will have a consistency to their message and you had better be ready to have those words roll off your tongue to avoid wavering from the bad news you must now deliver.

I vividly remember my brother’s wedding. I was the best man and asked his best friend for advice on how to deliver a toast. He told me, “Prepare nothing – that will just make you nervous, have a couple of drinks – that will relax you. Then just stand up and say what’s on your mind.” That was, without question, the worst advice I have ever received. I gave what was the worst best man toast ever. We still laugh about it more than 30 years later.

Fast forward to my days in practice when I enlisted a management company that promised results beyond my greatest expectations. There was just one catch: to achieve this greatness, I would have to memorize (not just learn) scripted dialogue that my patients would first hear on the phone, then again in my office, and finally when I would examine them and follow it up with a report of findings. All  scripted dialogue designed to effectively carry similar messages to many different patients. I rejected the idea outright at first, but I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I had already once failed miserably by not preparing any words of wisdom (the wedding toast). Now after burying myself under over $100,000 worth of debt, I could ill afford to make the same mistake twice, but I was adamantly opposed to learning scripted words that I just knew would sound stiff, insincere and dishonest. I just knew they would wreak of “fake and “phony” (even though I was young and had no idea what I was talking about). But my mind kept going back to the toast – the worst toast in the history of mankind.

I received all the materials and it was pages of script after script. It looked bad. I hated the idea of saying someone else’s words. I am, after all, a doctor! I’m a professional! (Sound familiar teachers?) I studied long and hard to learn my trade. I was the best in my class. But they never taught us what to say to the patients when they come to the office. Did they provide a “script” for you in all of those great education classes?

Long story short. Following graduation, I opened my office and failed. I failed miserably. It was only out of sheer desperation that I contracted with a practice management group who told me I would have to learn “my lines” if I was going to be a success. And they were right.

I swallowed my pride and learned my lines. I learned them so well that I was almost unaware of what was happening. At first the lines seemed choppy and exaggerated – almost fake. But each time I said their words, they became my words. In short time, my confidence grew and I began to own the words. They were not just words – they became my thoughts and my beliefs. It soon became very clear why I was paying this group several hundreds of dollars every month. They were right. They had seen other neophyte doctors before and knew what they needed.

Now I know many teachers will dig their heels in and stick to their guns, just like the new teacher of only two weeks whom I was trying to help when she interrupted me and said, “That’s not the way I do it.” Not the way you do it?? You’ve been a teacher for two weeks… you don’t have a way yet! If you choose not to take this opportunity to learn and grow, then so be it. But remember, scripting is like athletics. It is about practicing your words until you become an expert. Tiger Woods, though talented, would never be where he is today if not for repeating a swing taught to him over and over again. He uses a script.

And here are a few comments from the experts on scripts…

“Every script I’ve written and every series I’ve produced have expressed the things I most deeply believe.” ~ Michael Landon

“And when I’m on set, I’m just thinking about the script and of working. I think I’ve stayed focused on the work so much that I haven’t really noticed my life start to change except for I’ve gotten busier.” ~ Jennifer Lawrence

“I only sound intelligent when there’s a good script writer around.” ~ Christian Bale

“It’s difficult when you have to turn down a tremendous amount of money because you don’t like what the script is saying and you don’t have any money.” ~ Tim Robbins

“Even if you fall flat on your face, you’re still moving forward.” ~ Victor Kiam (on scripting)

And my favorite….

“When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, ‘It’s in the script.’ If he says, ‘But what’s my motivation?’ I say, ‘your salary’.” ~ Alfred Hitchcock  (Teachers might want to remember this one, especially when considering if something simple as using a script when calling home might improve their skills and make them more valuable to their school and to their principal.)

Dr. Michael Cubbin,  Teacher Practice Management Consulting

http://thebusinessofschool.org   http://thebusinessofschoolblog.com/

I recently posted two discussions on LinkedIn questioning the need, viability and justification for continuing with the current system of teacher evaluation: “TEACHER OBSERVATIONS DON’T WORK… BUT WHY?” and “WHY ARE TEACHERS EVALUATED?” The results showed wide ranging disparity on both the effectiveness and worth of the evaluative system, but was balanced by strong support by teachers for change in this area. These are the general comparisons from both schools of thought.

• Administrators – in general – believe there is an absolute need for evaluations to continue in their current form, but with minor modifications. Overall, they feel teacher observations are a necessary element of teaching and have confidence they are producing “some type of” desired result.
• Teachers overwhelmingly believe there is ample room for improvement in evaluations to promote teacher growth and development (did administrators feel this way when they were teachers?) and suggested a variety of options from minor modifications of the current system to eliminating it completely. Overall, they do not share administration’s feeling of success brought by the observation process.

These discussions were intended to initiate dialogue for change in schools in one area – teacher observations – to bring about improved student success, which we can all agree is urgently needed. What better place to begin than with a program that is suspect by most, highly subjective at best, and seemingly productive for all involved except teachers and students. In my conversations with administrators, and while a few may disagree, most are dissatisfied with the outcomes of observations given the time and energy they must invest necessary to perform them. One of the last comments summed it up and I am paraphrasing, “If teacher observations did what they were designed to do – develop greater teacher competency to increase student achievement – then why aren’t we seeing the resulting student successes?” It doesn’t get much simpler than this.

In spite of the many great ideas brought to the table, missing from both management and labor perspectives was a comprehensive solution that would:

• eliminate the formal observation process
• substitute it with a valid data-driven system of evaluation
• be powered by student outcomes
• use goal-setting to statistically analyze “trending”
• satisfy both parties

In truth, I was hoping for one administrator, one school, to say, “Look, if you have a better way, our school is willing to try it.” I didn’t hear that, so I am offering a proposal – and it is all about DATA. We need to agree on a common starting point, so let’s use what we have top bragging rights to – DATA.

DATA – like it, love it or hate it – is our most valuable and under-appreciated asset. We use data to catalog students in every way possible – top third, bottom third, ELL, special education and then re-order each one on so many sub-levels, but fail to rely on its ability to help quantify and qualify the effectiveness of a teacher. It seems only logical that if we can use data (not exclusively for VAM) to show how effectively a teacher is performing, based on student achievement, then why would blanket formal “subjective high-stakes” evaluations ever be necessary again? Also, if we are to avoid the type of fallout shown by preliminary VAM feedback, we need to have this discussion.

So why aren’t we using data to our greater advantage? If students of a particular teacher are experiencing either good or bad results – trending up or down – then why isn’t this the primary data used to validate his or her competency in the classroom rather than four 15-minute informal walk-throughs?

Take differentiation and data. I have a sign that reads:

“In this class, we use Assessment to generate Data that will help us to Differentiate Instruction and to create Curriculum that will intellectually impact All Members of the Learning Community.”

Deliver instruction first then, then based on the data, differentiate if necessary. How can you effectively differentiate instruction before you know if differentiation will be necessary? Even if differentiation is based on past experiences, you are still making presumptuous, and probably incorrect, assumptions. In theory, shouldn’t there come a time when struggling students make breakthroughs and no longer need the crutch of differentiation? Isn’t that why we differentiate in the first place? Differentiating instruction without first using data to modify curriculum or teaching methods is just differentiating for the sake of differentiating (my apologies for the multiple uses of differentiation.) Class data must be statistically analyzed to create effective strategies, but we know if differentiation is excluded during an observation… points lost. Why? Who better to determine – based on class data – if differentiation is needed or not?

How about teacher competency and data. Once teachers are hired, with a reasonable “expectation of competency,” they begin producing data in the first few weeks. Not just grades, but also a vast untapped source of secondary data every teacher has, yet does not currently use as proof of proficiency. How often is all this data used as a benchmark of competency prior to an observation? And if it is being used please show me, because I just don’t see it. Teachers are evaluated to improve student outcomes, so why isn’t this the first place we look? Why isn’t a baseline created here to monitor future growth and trending? This is so easy for a teacher to prepare if they are shown how to do it. Not being aware of teacher progress using statistical analysis of data, via baselines and trending – but going ahead with an observation anyway – is not really helping to improve teacher development, but is merely observing for the sake of saying an observation was performed. This is unproductive, not good for anyone and will never create the desired result, which is well-developed teachers producing maximum student achievement. We need to look at the data.

If I seem obsessed with data, it is because data can drive instruction, but how often is data used to drive both instruction and to formulate accurate evaluations? This is our missing link.

How many principals would be willing to try these steps as an option to the traditional teacher observation? This is an outline of Data-Driven Evaluation.

1. Effective electronic gradebook (EGB) used to collect the data necessary that will be used to graphically analyze trending as it occurs on a day to day basis. The EGB also needs to be streamlined enough for any teacher to pick up quickly – no steep learning curves, no unnecessary bells and whistles. There are only a few EGBs that can do this. This is a non-negotiable.
2. Student Work – graded, entered and posted the same day it is received. This is a non-negotiable. Why? Because you cannot keep accurate stats without timely data. All professionals have lots of paperwork, but grades are #1 to students – and this is our job. Doing so also keeps parents on your side.
3. Weekly Progress Reports – Students must bring in a signed Progress Report every Monday (or Friday) that is counted as an assignment. This will be used to set goals for the week. This is a absolutely a non-negotiable.
4. All teachers are supplied with a comprehensive “Data Collection Statistical Analysis Program,” which teaches specific strategies for collecting/recording all student and classroom data (the same used by all management consultants outside of teaching). The data is kept in the classroom, in a STATS Folder, is available to all visitors, and is updated daily. It is recorded on paper, and updated online daily. Data is represented in graph form on a regular schedule. A good EGB will make accessing this data very easy for the principal from his/her office as well. This is a non-negotiable.
5. Basic data such as grades, tests, quizzes, HW, and attendance are only rudimentary statistics and are obviously insufficient. Statistical analysis and trending of class data plus additional unmined data (this is the “secret sauce”) must be added. This is a non-negotiable.
6. Trending is the basis for this system. This is a non-negotiable. Students must be taught trending. Statistical analysis of data trending (that every pro athlete uses daily) is taught for students to increase their “sense of urgency” through correct goal setting, time management, prioritization and increased awareness of progress. It is this data collection and analysis by students that increases student engagement and reduces teacher/administration monitoring by more than half.
7. Based on easy online access to this data, administrators would be much better prepared to “consult” with teachers regarding progress, strategies, successes, etc… prior to visiting each class.
8. Inter-visitations – Teachers will be required to do a compliment of 3-4 inter-visitations (or a prearranged #) each month with colleagues. Simple documentation will be kept by teacher in their STATS Folder and be available to administrator at any time. Teachers will complete “Self-Assessment” forms on the back of each inter-visitation form during the inter-visitation and kept in our classroom STATS Folder. Half of these Self-Assessments can be done as Peer-Assessment. This is a non-negotiable.
9. No formal observations. This is a non-negotiable (remember, this is an alternative to the current system.) How simple would it be for a principal to compare peer or self-assessments against actual classroom practices through regular informal walk-throughs? This is how a professional becomes self-actualized. Either we want a piece of paper in the teacher’s file (an observation), or we want highly competent, highly-developed, teachers.
10. Regular “high-visibility high-profile” walk-throughs. Without formal observations to slow a principal down, this would be easy. Principals will have access to any student or classroom data prior to, during, and after these visits. This is a non-negotiable.
11. Teachers who show trending upward by a mutually predetermined trending rate will also be permitted greater autonomy. Less oversight followed by greater self-actualization and personal development. Trust increases, job satisfaction increases. (Statistical analysis of data and trending are the linchpins of this program.) This is a non-negotiable.
12. So what happens if a teacher is doing poorly? Teacher data trending will not align with student data trending. Teacher will be consulted regarding statistics by one or more administrators and will include peer-intervention for support and advice, reassessment of goals, strategizing what is working and what is not, all within a time-frame for improvement and possibly even student input (a last measure).

This is an outline proposal. And while this some points may be a bit unorthodox and unsettling for administrators who feel they absolutely must see how a teacher wrote their Do Now or if they differentiated properly (even if differentiation for that particular lesson was unnecessary), it is an alternative could work and/or improved upon. I developed the program of data collection, statistical analysis, trending, prioritization, time management and true goal setting and have used it for years. Now, if we can only get a few principals to pilot this type of approach, we might start moving closer to the change we seek.

This is an alternative to the current system of teacher observations. I welcome all comments, criticisms and observations (pardon the pun).

http://thebusinessofschool.org   Teacher Practice Management Consulting

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Because they are looking in the wrong place.

A recent article written by Ryan Fuller, a former space engineer now teacher, stated that, “Teaching isn’t rocket science. It’s harder. To solve engineering problems, you use your brain. Solving classroom problems uses your whole being.”

Poppycock! The answer is simple – so simple, in fact, even a kindergarten student understands the solution.

According to the article’s author, some of teachers’ greatest hurdles are as follows:

• How do I engage students?
• How do I make students responsible for their learning?
• How do I keep students “on task”?
• How do I make my class interesting?
• How do I make sure students understand the content?
• How do I inspire students?
• How do I relate to students?
• How do I keep – or get students back – on track?
• How do I do…. everything?

The author believes students want structure, want to learn and want to be prepared for life – and he is correct. But on the bullet-points beginning with How do  I… he is wrong. Though he supports “student-directed classrooms,” he believes that it must be teachers who are responsible for doing all and being all (on top of being mother, father, teacher, preacher, friend, confidant, counselor, mediator and a few other side jobs). This not just faulty thinking, it is impossible. In fact, this “I can do it all” thinking rarely works in the real world, so how can we expect it to work in education – a system top-heavy with so many variables that it is “almost” impossible to reach ANY goal? (I say “almost” because it is possible, but we need to begin thinking “smarter” not “harder.”) As they move from grade to grade, we must better prepare students to accept the challenges ahead, and take some of the “how do I…” off of our shoulders.

We must learn from our data and statistics. We know that the sooner our youngsters develop good classroom and study habits, the more successfully they will  grow and develop through the years. Can we all agree on at least that? Or is that up to interpretation as well? How often do we have a new class come to our room in September that knows policies and procedures backward and forward, acts appropriately, interacts with others using a high degree of engagement and are just wonderful to have in our rooms? It does happen, and when we tell them how wonderful they are and how nice it is to have such a good class, what do they tell us? “Oh, Mrs. Jones taught us all these things last year, so we already know what to do.” From the mouths of babes! They understand! How much do we love Mrs. Jones?! She prepared her students for success in the next grade. Get us early enough (before teachers allow us to “get away with” any bad habits), fine tune the behaviors you expect in us to exhibit and we will get it.

Be honest, how many of you were focused not just on teaching curriculum this year, but on making sure that your classes moved up knowing what will be expected of them – on more than just a level of curricular understanding?

All other variables aside, if we look at a graph (that any 6th grader can draw), we would see that childrens’ scores decrease as they go from K through 12th grade. We also know that the level of student engagement and excitement is also higher in the earlier years. Just ask any kindergarten teacher. What are our major complaints of middle and high school students? Attendance, behavior, organization, cooperation? These behaviors are all thoroughly covered in kindergarten.

So what happens? Students change according to the structure provided by each new teacher in each new year. If we maintain a sense of continuity from K-12, we stand a much better prospect of success than trying to “reinvent the wheel” in middle through high school where each teacher has their own limits and thresholds for what will be permitted in each particular class. Teachers who have the “I don’t do that, I do it my own way” approach creates so many variables it is almost impossible to obtain any valid conclusions. Simple Scientific Methodology. Too many variables doesn’t work. The experiment cannot be recreated by the next scientist (or teacher).

Too many “late” (6th & 7th grade) middle school and high school teachers are doomed – particularly in urban setting – because of the “allowances” made by previous teachers regarding proper classroom behavior. This is where Mr. Fuller is wrong. It is definitely not harder than rocket science. It just requires that all teachers be united and stay on the same page.

The later we get to students, the less likely they are going to be able to perform at the levels we are setting for them. As Mr. Fuller pointed out, “students want structure, want to learn and want to be prepared for life.” Yes, they do. And when they fail to live up to these expectations, we can only blame ourselves. We are Dr. Frankenstein who has – by omission, rather then by commission – created the proverbial monster. We dropped the ball… dropped it, and kept dropping it by allowing poor behavior, texting in class, wearing ear buds, playing around, missing and late homework, passing grades where they shouldn’t exist and more until it is impossible for the next teacher to have any hope of success. How many of us have heard, “But Mr. So-and-So didn’t care it we ate in class” or “Mrs. Wonderful never took off points if homework was late”? So where do we turn to fix this loss of engagement and responsibility that we are suppose to infuse into our 7th or 9th graders? We go to the one person who “got it” and was able to give it away.

The one who “got it” (following my parents) was Mrs. McKinney, my kindergarten teacher. She really got it. She taught me how to walk into a room, how to hang up my coat, how to find my seat, how to get ready for class to start, how to pay attention, how to get ready for lunch, how to play “nice” on the playground, how to nap successfully, how to get ready to end the day, and how to go home. I learned so much in kindergarten.

My 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade teachers “got it” as well, but nobody had it like Mrs. McKinney. By 5th and 6th grades, my teachers were “losing it” and I made sure – via my behavior – that I knew they were losing it. Structure, learning and life preparation became lax. I knew it and the teachers knew it, and yes, I was a piece of work. There was only one thing for me to do, and that was to live up to their expectations. Students demand structure in their classrooms, and if they don’t get it, they begin to fail. I did just that.

Luckily, my parents saw this and off I went to parochial school. There the structure, learning and life preparation were all restored. I was back on track. It was a simple process. The nuns spoke very much like Mrs. McKinney, they were clear and concise in their direction and we knew that if we did not follow the procedures, policies and protocols of the school, there would be consequences.

Though human cloning is still a long way away, I propose the first person to be cloned should be Mrs. McKinney. Next I propose she be put into every class in the country all the way up to 12th grade. All students would then be the beneficiaries of her guidance, her direction, her clarity, her simple wisdom, and her desire to make sure we all turned out as good as possible – regardless of home lives, siblings, personal flaws, learning impediments, and any other obstacle that stops students in their tracks today.

Mrs. McKinney is what happens when you start early and do the right thing. We are still, for the most part, starting early, but as our students complete elementary school and move on to middle school we are dropping the ball. We need to turn our attention back on EARLY INTERVENTION.

To prove this, let’s look at other sectors of society where early prevention pays far greater dividends than trying to put the horse back in that barn after it has gotten out.

Recidivism – a person’s relapse into behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention. By not seeking prevention action in the early years, recidivism rates for various behaviors become the following:

• Crime – > 50%
• Alcohol – >50% (though I have seen much higher)
• Drugs – > 60%
• DWI – > 40%

Early prevention is the only way to lower these incidents. This is why we have so few smokers today. We have been relentless in explaining the pitfalls of smoking. Unfortunately, schools have an almost 0% recidivism rate. Once we lose them, we usually never get them back. So let’s try not to lose them in the first place.

Since grades (as well as acceptable behaviors) are highest in the lower grades (elementary schools in particular) let’s start there. Let’s duplicate what those kindergarten teachers did so wonderfully in our early years and continue doing that for the next 12 years. Let’s not wait until students leave our – and I really hate this term for just this very reason – “dumping grounds” of middle school to try and fix things. Keep up what was started in kindergarten. Let’s think back to our kindergarten teacher and try to stay on the same track that she (or he) would want us to stay on.

What do you believe (in one sentence) is the #1 reason behind all the testing that is on rise today. Feel free to add any evidence or documentation to support your opinion (not wanting to exasperate, irritate or alienate all the CCSS aficionados out there), but I would like to keep the reason itself simple, so one sentence please.

Here is my reason – “Our students are underachieving on an epidemic scale.”

If schools were churning out Rhodes Scholars or problem solvers on a grand scale (which given their access to all the information of Earth on their cell phones seems not too unreasonable a request), we teachers would not find ourselves under the microscope where we are today.

Feel free to contribute, but please limit your reason itself to one sentence.