My proposal for education transformation Essay
My proposal for education transformation that recommends changes are the initiative encourages US states to adopt internationally benchmarked standards and assessments to help prepare students for success in college and the workplace, to retain and reward teachers, to build useful student data systems, and to help low-performing schools. This is an impressive effort, but there is more that the US can learn from the PISA results published today. In math, the strict implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) would undoubtedly improve PISA results. This is a key finding from the US Country Note on PISA, published today alongside the full international report. Teaching requires districts to trust administrators, administrators to trust teachers, and teachers to trust students.
It is also possible for the US to reach for excellence and improve equity at the same time. Indeed, of the 13 countries that significantly improved their math performance in PISA, three also show improvements in making their systems more equitable, and another nine improved their performance while maintaining high levels of equity. One concrete course of action is to find ways to allocate the most talented teachers and school leaders to the most challenging schools and classrooms. PISA also finds that all the highest-performing countries allocate educational resources more equitably among advantaged and disadvantaged schools than the US does.
In many respects, teachers are the key to success. Top school systems focus on teacher selection and retention, and provide strong pathways for career growth. They also create an environment for teachers to be innovative and share good practices. Instead of requiring standardization and compliance, top performing systems enable teachers to be inventive instead of looking upwards in the bureaucracy, they look outwards to create networks of innovation across teachers and schools. For example, students not only believe they are in control of their ability to succeed, but they are prepared to do what it takes to do so. This suggests that parents and teachers can make a difference in instilling the values that foster success in education. Put simply, it is about making education a priority, not only within governments, but also at home.
All learning should be formative. Educators talk a lot about formative and summative assessment. But honestly wonder why we even have summative assessments? Bottom line? To give a mark. To give the test score. So kids can have marks for college. Marks should be abolished. Teachers realize that's a strong statement, but they have good reasons for saying so. In addition to being an arbitrary symbol that we've given an awful lot of power to, it means very little. What does 82 mean? Really. Teachers have asked students that question. They have asked parents and other teachers, as well. No one really knows. Does it mean students don't know 18% of the stuff? And which 18%. What if it's the really important 18%?
United States should adopt the principles of the Slow Education movement as authentic, individualized, and formative to help low performing schools