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Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy
Thank you, very interesting. What sort of alternative metrics are you referring to?
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In high school specifically, it should be an extrapolation of multiple data. Including:
- External test scores (eg PAT’s and Diplomas)
- High school graduation rates
- Credits per semester earned
- Attendance
- Student surveys on wellness and their classes
- Extracurricular or club involvement
- Indigenous learner success
These all help paint a picture of the current state of a school. It’s important to consider these because the current high school I work at had historically (as with many high schools) been hyper focused on diploma results. My school in particular has one of the highest diploma marks in the province. But this is misleading because many teachers intentionally push students with low grades out of courses that would lead to higher level diploma courses. So for example, teachers would implement strategies to deflate the confidence of students who might just squeak by with 50’s in Biology 20 and encourage them to drop so that they won’t take Bio 30, many say that they do this to appropriately stream students so that they are more successful in lower courses like Science 20 or 24 and develop their fundamental skills. In some ways that’s true, but I also think there’s a hidden motive to not have those students drag external assessment marks down. I can say anecdotally this is true, as I’ve literally heard a 30 level teacher talk about how diploma marks is what “they” (ie. Admin and downtown) look at and they don’t want kids who just squeaked by. And many times it’s also behaviour related- the teacher just doesn’t want to deal with that kid who’s always on their phone. This has resulted in pretty poor high school completion rates at my school, but on the surface our school is touted as a “top school” by parents who look at rankings by diploma results. Hint- my school is near an affluent area and that’s probably why we have high diploma results. We aren’t doing anything more novel than any other high school in the city.
I teach Bio. I’ve always told my students at the beginning of the year who take Bio 20 that it’s really challenging, but if you want to be here I’ll help you meet your goals. If it’s 90’s or just to pass, you’re welcomed. This does make my job harder because I have a classroom of very diverse levels, but students rarely drop my class and I also have a very low fail rate in my class at the cost of a lower class average on external assessments. From a standardized test perspective, I’d be a poor educator because my diploma results will be lower. But beyond the diploma, I try to implement inclusive strategies to help the students who squeak by, such as having meetings with students who misread a question on a test and give them full credit if they could explain the concepts verbally, allowing phone use during assessments for my ESL students so they can translate my tests when needed, reassessments after every unit to help students identify areas of weakness and try again. Many times student achievement is poor not because of learning, but because of other barriers that I try my best to remove for equal access to learning. These things I offer become very advantageous for my students that are not opportunities offered by external assessments. I have a lot of students who I taught in Bio 20 ask to be in my Bio 30 class, and even though my diploma results might dip because of their inclusion, I think I’m doing right by them by giving everyone a fighting chance to pass Bio all the way to the end. But I can do this because my administration supports this. If they told me I am purely evaluated based on my students’ external assessment marks (which has historically been the case in many schools) then I would have a really hard time with the pressure of those test marks versus what I think is morally the right thing to do.
On the flip side, I would understand why teachers don’t want to implement these inclusive policies. It’s exhausting when you have 100 students all with unique needs. The supports are just not there for me. I also understand why teachers are so entrenched in their beliefs about standardized testing.
Punitive strategies like being inflexible, docking marks for being late, or not allowing reassessments only work for students who are already doing well, have the resources to access learning, and have the resilience to bounce back. The consequence is that students who are most affected by those punitive policies, including those who suffer major life problems in the middle of the year, ESL students, students with mental health problems, students who have to work to support their family, and students with learning disabilities are disenfranchised. But they are also the students who are least likely to complain because they’ve learned through countless negative interactions in the past, either at school or outside of school, not to advocate for themselves. This results in their voices not being heard as much and further inequities because policies aren’t being shaped around them. There are many reasons students don’t achieve high marks, and when I talk to students, lots of it is because they’re being lazy, but a lot more are based on factors beyond their control. But the data that tracks what happens to these students are often overlooked in favor of test scores, which are literally only written by students who could make it all the way to the end of grade 12, and you don’t see data coming from the students who actually need a good and compassionate teacher to complete high school.