This question, Should teachers be held accountable for low student test scores? is being debated constantly.This debate has been brought to the fore, even moreso, by the ongoing Presidential Campaign. Each candidate is trying to placate his constituency by deferring to the teachers' unions and by establishing his position on the No Child Left Behind Act. This Act passed by The Congress of The United States, essentially to assist in the improvement in the academic performance of students in all the States, has been controversial ever since its implementation, and continues to be so at this hour. Yet, it may be argued that regardless, each teaher has always, even prior to this Act, been considered by a great proportion of the parent community to be responsible, in some part, for the academic achievement of his or her charge. I must confess, I am biassed here, and will support the reasons for my bias as I continue this piece.
What, I know, or nearly all I know, is due in large part, if not in the whole, to the dedication of my teachers, the books, and other learning tools, to which I was introduced by them; to the insistence , by their persuasion and their uncompromising demands, that I learn, and that I learn well. That I know enough now, and that I continue to want to know more; that the enough I know tells me that I know very little; that the more I want to know exposes me to the realisation that I will never know very much, is the legacy bequeathed by most of my teachers in my kindergaten, primary, and secondary years. I have said so oft, and repeat that here. How then did they achieve that?
I can recall, at four (4) years my teacher, then my mother, would take me in her arms and have me repaeat what she he had told me sometime before. Soon, my attitude, and my brain I suppose, made learning become routine. At primary school, my teachers tested the classes on each topic they taught. Very often these tests were done without our being told they would be. We had to know; and we came to be proud that we had to know. It made each of us students better; certainly it made me a more dedicated student. Indeed, it has not only affected our academic performance, it has affected all aspects of our lives. Yet how does that support my opinion that teachers should be held accountable for low student test scores?
There are the constant arguments by teachers, and their unions, that socioeconomic factors make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to affect positively the scores of certain segments of the student population. There may be some truth to that. There is also the argument advanced by the same groups that not enough money is allocated to a particular district so there are not enough available tools to be effective. There may also be some truth to that. Let me say, however, that my experience tells me that the young mind is like a sponge and absorbs knowledge like a thirsty horse drinks water. Unless, a child is not well,
he or she will learn under any circumstance. And when he learns, he will not score poorly on a test. At least, she will not score poorly on most tests. And it may be adduced that these arguments of socioeconmic deprivation and inadequate funding, by themselves, tend these teachers not to focus on the students, since they must, by the results, justify their arguments.
In Europe. particularly in Britain, tests are a matter of course. This has been so since the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Not anyone, teacher, parent, nor student complains. It has worked well. In the English speaking Caribbean, teachers, students, and parents, pride themselves in the results of their neighbourhood schools. Testing is very rigourous, and what is more, none of the persons who mark the test papers has any way of knowing which student's paper is being graded. This results in a very objective and respected system and result. There is no reason why the same approach cannot be taken here. And it is incontrovertible, that in the Caribbean the socioeconomic conditions are far more stark, and the funding appreciably less, than the most neglected area in our world.
Just a few short years ago, I dated a teacher of second grade children in one of the neighbourhoods schools of New York City. I am still amazed at the dedication she displayed. She knew each parent and his and,or her, occupation; and communicated with them constantly on the progress of the children.She knew the habits and capability of each child. I would relax with her as she carefully graded their papers. I daresay those kids all did well on their tests. That attitude, if displayed by all teahers will have similar results.
Undoubtedly, there will be exceptions; there will be frustrations. But if the teachers expend enough energy, and time, and communicate well, the results will be rewarding. They will be applauded for the students scoring well on the tests. And when, as will rarely occur, a child does not score well, all the world will understand.
Stay well; walk good my friend.