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| Re: ARTICLE: America's biggest teacher and principal cheating scandal unfolds in Atlanta (806130) | |||
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Re: ARTICLE: America's biggest teacher and principal cheating scandal unfolds in Atlanta |
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Posted by Scorpio7 on Thu Jul 7 17:03:47 2011, in response to Re: ARTICLE: America's biggest teacher and principal cheating scandal unfolds in Atlanta, posted by The Flxible Neofan on Thu Jul 7 13:52:50 2011. "I wonder what other ways there are to determine the quality of teaching a school provides outside of standardized tests."NOT having standardized tests. Here in Flanders, Belgium, we don't have standardized tests in high school. Teachers get a curriculum (which over here is the minimum they should teach, they are free to teach more), and they themselves make the tests. There are obviously guidelines as to what the tests should look like, and the teacher has to be able to show it is a representative test of the curriculum, but other than that, he or she chooses what questions are asked, and how they are asked. That gives a lot of freedom to the teachers, and while there are potential pitfalls, in reality the result is that most teachers make tests that are considerably harder than any standardized test, more specific, and focus much more on understanding than on 'ticking the right box' (hardly any of the tests are multiple choice, btw). The level of teaching also goes up, as teachers now have something to prove. One of the results is that, when Flemish students do take part in international standardized tests, they tend to score among the best. As for how the level is 'checked'? Schools get a thorough screening from the ministry of education every few years. They go through students' textbooks and notes (from the current and the last few years) as well as their tests, interview students and teachers, etc., to see if the school performs as it should. A school that's not up to standard will get a limited amount of time to set things straight, and if it doesn't, will lose funding and thus be forced to close. Other than that, an even better way in which quality is kept in check is simply through competition: parents are completely free to choose their children's school. A school that underperforms (something that travels quickly through word of mouth) will therefore lose students and ultimately, if it doesn't turn things around, go out of business. |
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