STAFF EDITORIAL
Ask any Cal High teacher or student and they’ll tell you that standardized testing is a pain.
Students could care less about their performance on them, and teachers hardly miss a chance to bash the tests, which they say takes away from instructional time and creativity because they are forced to teach to the test.
These test results have huge implications for schools and districts – federal and state funding is on the line.
Lately, much of the talk about education reform in California and nationwide has been about getting rid of teachers who aren’t good at their jobs and rewarding those who are.
Keeping with this trend, the LA Times published on its Web site in August the “value-added” analyses of all the teachers in the LA school district that used students’ test score averages as the sole basis for determining the effectiveness of teachers.
This sparked controversy among outraged teachers, concerned parents and reform-minded policymakers.
Teachers argued that each class of students is different, so a standardized test cannot accurately measure student progress and judge their performance. Many of the most important skills acquired in a classroom can’t be evaluated by a test.
On the other hand, many parents said the data indicated that some teachers weren’t doing their jobs by not covering basic standards.
Both arguments clearly have merit. It’s true a teacher’s contributions to a class cannot be gauged simply by a test score.
But there ought to be a means for the government to determine how teachers, whose salaries are paid by the state, are performing at their jobs so they can help ensure that students in public schools get the most out of their time in class.
There is no easy answer to education reform. But after years of bashing standardized tests, it may be time to reconsider.
Opinions expressed in The Californian are those of the respective authors. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority view of the staff.
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