National tests show no progress in math

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Oct 29, 2009 3:37 PM

Still time to take part in Measures of Effective Teaching study

The UFT reminds teachers they still have an opportunity to participate in the Measures of Effective Teaching Project — a study to help people understand “how complex effective teaching really is,” according to UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

Independent researchers in the project will look at the work of 3,700 real teachers in real classrooms in six urban centers nationwide — including 1,000 teachers in approximately 100 New York City schools — to develop multidimensional measures to evaluate teaching instead of the one-dimensional test score measures frequently proposed.

Because reliance on inaccurate and oversimplified test scores is gaining momentum across the country, Mulgrew has called on teachers to use this opportunity to help shape the profession. Participants will receive a $1,500 stipend.

All information collected in the project will be kept in a password-protected database which, under legal guidelines, cannot be shared with principals or Department of Education officials.

Eligibility requirements

Principals must agree to participate.
At least six teachers in the same building must agree to participate.
Participating teachers must teach the following grades/subjects:

ELA — Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; or
Math — Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and integrated Algebra (Grade 9); or
Living Environment — Grade 9.

Collaborative team teachers may be considered if there are three CIT classes on a grade level.

If you are an eligible teacher who is interested in participating, please fill out the online form that can be found by clicking on Measures of Effective Teaching Project. By filling out the form, you are expressing interest in the study, not making a firm commitment to participate.

Teachers have been telling the UFT that there is too much emphasis on teaching to the state standards as measured by state tests. Now, the results of the national math tests this year support their claims.

Students in New York State showed no real progress on these tests this year despite big gains on statewide exams.

Flat scores on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in math stood in stark contrast to large gains on the state test, where an unprecedented number of students have met state standards over the last two years.

“We’ve designed a school system that is just test-taking prep, and we have teachers saying, ‘I know I am not teaching children what they need to learn,’” UFT President Michael Mulgrew commented. “It comes down to test-prep vs. real learning.”

The same disparity between the NAEP scores and state tests was evident in many other states.

NAEP tests set the proficiency bar much higher than most states, but the direction of results should be comparable. Yet on the 2009 NAEP, 4th-graders in New York State actually declined three points from 2007. Eighth-graders gained three points but the improvement was not statistically significant.

By contrast, state tests in May showed 4th-graders gaining more than 7 points in proficiency and 8th-graders more than 21 points over the same period.

Education experts and commentators questioned whether schools have become so focused on teaching to the specifics of state tests that they have sacrificed broader and more challenging curriculums. Others wondered if state tests have misled educators about how much students actually know.

“We are going to start to address that this year, and we are going to make the state tests more transparent and more truthful,” vowed Merryl Tisch, the chair of the state Board of Regents.

Based on student performance, teachers in New York State appear to have been doing their assigned jobs of teaching to the state exams with remarkable success. But the state’s teachers have often reported that the curriculum is too narrow and the standards too low. The new federal results suggest that their warnings were spot-on.

New York City NAEP results will be released in November, allowing for a closer look at city performance claims.

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