So I realize that perhaps with this posting I am still preaching to the choir a little bit but after class today I was thinking again about: What does it means to be a highly qualified teacher and does a multiple choice test tell who is and who is not?
After taking the test this weekend that is supposed to judge my content knowledge of everything from elementary school I have only been reaffirmed that I believe the test is stupid! Questions were poorly worded and there were many times where it seemed to be more about my test taking abilities than knowledge.
I think that as a teacher I should know about how kids learn, how to deliver information, how to assess learning, and how to provide authentic experiences. I do not believe that I must have every random fact in my back pocket about social studies, science or math. However, I should be held accountable to know WHERE to find this information, and that I must know how to find accurate sources of information.
Today in class we were talking about one of the standards that must be met for OSPI. The idea that we as student teachers must also show documentation that our students from our field placement are learning as a result of our teaching.
To me this is so much stronger and more important than taking this standardized test, which they have not even come up with a common scoring form yet!
I am still waiting for someone to explain why it is vital to take/ and pass in order to become an educator?
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You're right. I think our evaluation as student teachers should be the most important part of our certification. A person who really shouldn't be a teacher could easily ace the West-E while doing poorly as a student teacher. This type of prospective teacher would look like a good hire based on test results alone. Does anyone see our test results beside the issuers of our certificate?
ReplyDeleteHey! I don't know who Cassandra is, but Haisuli should have gotten credit for that comment!
ReplyDeleteTo some extent I feel that part of this process, like most jobs, is jumping through the hoops. Do we have the dedication to work hard and complete what is expected of us. That is only one part of this program though. I'm not a fan of it either, but my mindset is that the test was just another aspect I need to successfully complete regardless of how I agree or disagree with it. The test is only one day, the student teaching is about a year so I do see that as being more valued. It's not a series of tests like other professions (thanks goodness), but a cumulative bundle of our accomplishments during the program
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