Well, it's time for me get a little better educated about some of the history that I actually taught through in the last twenty years.When it comes to background on accountability, Diane Ravitch's article A Brief History of Testing and Accountability in the Hoover Digest (2002, No.4) is a good place to start. If you're in rush, here's a summary of the article. A historian of education at the Hoover Institute, Ravitch really delineates clearly the history of the two camps involved in the educational issue of accountability: policy makers versus professional educators. I found it really helped to put into persective our current political situation, as our boards in Ontario start to emphasize more and more the results from the OSSLT, and data profiles start to show up across our desks with principal's requests for median-boosting.This is where our teachers' associations can really play an important role. They are our voice of reason, one of our vehicles for change. In 2005, the Alberta Teachers' Association put out a background paper, Accountability in Education, to voice its concerns about Alberta Education's accountability framework. The paper gives an historical context of accountability in Alberta which provides a striking comparison with Ravitch's history of the US. Ontario would do well to take heed. Another section of the paper suggests nine ways that Alberta Education could improve its accountability system. You're welcome to have a look at my comments about their suggestions. These are certainly worthwhile considerations for our own system here in Ontario.
Although it's important to stay abreast at the political level, I think it's also important for us all to remember the essence of accountablility. Lorna Earl , associate professor at OISE,wrote an article for Orbit magazine in 2001 that still resonates with me today. It was a turbulent and ugly time to be a teacher in the Harris years. I'll never forget the unsettling mix of feelings I felt standing out on the picket line day after day. But everyday I tried to remember that what was most important was the kids in my classroom. It's still what's most important to me today, and Earl's article, Accountability: Where Do Teachers Fit ( Earl, L. [2001] In Leithwood,K. and Earl, L. [Eds.] Is Accountability in Schools A Good Thing for Kids? Orbit. OISE/UT) really puts the focus where it ultimately belongs. Here's a summary of the article. She passionately reminds us that we and the kids and their parents are our most important accountability relationship.
1 comment:
Hi Melanie,
Your mention of the Harris years and your time spent on the picket line is interesting. You say you experienced an ‘unsettling’ mix of feelings and it occurs to me that I haven’t had a comparable experience in my short career. I bet it was bit emotional at times.
With regards to your stance on the accountability issue, it appears that you are not taking a firm stance either way. Do I read you correctly in saying that you are for accountability when it improves student learning, and against it when it impedes it? In theory I would agree with this as well.
However, I do think that there is an enormous amount of grey around this issue which complicates the practical approach. For instance, I’m reasonably certain that accountability policies will improve test scores and other comparative performance scores. But I don’t feel that necessarily means that the students are better off for it. Rather, that we will have perfected ‘teaching to the test’.
Moreover, I am one of those teachers who feel that social learning is more important than academics in secondary school. Placing emphasis on reaching academic benchmarks might lead to a reduction in opportunities for social development in our classroom. This is just one of many problems I find with the practical side of accountability policies.
I wonder if there is an accountability policy, in particular, that you feel teachers need to accept (however begrudgingly) in the interest of improving student development?
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