MNpublius.com

Al Franken was at Jackson Elementary School in Saint Paul this morning. From MPR:

Franken said he likes the accountability requirements of No Child Left Behind, but also said that under the law kids are too often being taught how to pass tests at the expense of important general learning.

Franken said tests should measure critical thinking skills and lesson plans should prepare students to pass tests without teaching to those tests. Franken said entire schools should not be penalized because one group of students tests poorly.

“Accountability is the right way to go but we’re going about it the wrong way and here’s what I propose,” Franken said. “First, stop using No Child Left Behind as a blunt instrument to punish schools.”

His plan is explained on alfranken.com:

1. Stop using NCLB as a blunt instrument to punish schools. Currently, there are 37 ways to fail AYP – and only one way to pass. If one “cell” of students at one school fails to meet the federal government’s arbitrary benchmark, the entire school, and the entire district, can be tagged as “failing,” potentially leading to the loss of critical funding for the students who need it most. No distinction is made between schools that fail in one cell, in one subject, and schools that have widespread problems. In particular, no flexibility is allowed for schools where the failing “cell” includes English Language Learners and students with special needs. It’s right to focus attention on at-risk sub-groups, and schools that have real problems should be targeted for research-based interventions – but one failing “cell” shouldn’t be an excuse to punish an entire district.
2. Measure individual student growth through flexible growth models designed by educators. The appeal of No Child Left Behind for parents was that they would receive assessments of their student’s growth over the course of the school year. Instead, an annual test on a single day stands in for the teacher’s professional judgment – and instead of measuring growth, NCLB simply compares students to an arbitrary performance standard. There must be accountability – but professional educators at the district level should be allowed more flexibility to develop growth models that accurately reflect year-to-year growth on the individual level.
3. Conquer Macnamara’s Fallacy. Macnamara’s Fallacy: “That which can be measured easily will be measured and will be deemed important. That which cannot be measured easily will not be measured and will be deemed unimportant.” Skills like critical thinking cannot be measured easily – but they are important. So, in keeping with our commitment to measuring student progress, Franken will invest in pilot programs to study educator-initiated methods for teaching – and, importantly, evaluating – these skills. In addition, he’ll focus the Department of Education on promoting educator-initiated “best practices” for incorporating a wide range of subject matter into reading and math curricula.