1. How I Reported
“The Test Generation”…
and What I’ve Learned
Since
By Dana Goldstein
Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation
Puffin Fellow, The Nation
www.danagoldstein.net
dana@danagoldstein.net

2.  Race to the Top incentivizes evaluating teachers
according to how much they grow student
achievement; half of all states responded by changing
their laws
 Colorado‘s SB191, ―The Great Teachers and Leaders
Bill:‖ 51 percent of every teacher‘s evaluation linked
to student ―growth‖; end of tenure as we know it
 Reformers like Sen. Mike Johnston acknowledge
Harrison District 2 as one model for potential
statewide SB191 implementation
 Union folks pointed to a different school as a model:
The Math and Sciences Leadership Academy in
Denver
Premises of the Piece

3.  ―Student data that is monitored at least
annually to ensure the correlation between
‗student academic growth‘ and outcomes with
educator effectiveness ratings.‖
 The ―Colorado Growth Model‖ does NOT
factor in studentSES; it is based on CSAP
score projections
 CSAP affects only some teachers (reading,
writing, math, science in grades 3-10)
 Therefore, state must devise new tools to
measure growth in non-tested
subjects/grades, since SB191 applies to ALL
teachers
What Does SB191 Require?

4.  What IS student growth-based and value-
added-based teacher assessment, and
what does the research say about its
effectiveness?
Before I Visited Colorado, I Asked

5.  Douglas N. Harris, ―Clear Away the Smoke and Mirrors of Value-
Added.‖ Phi Delta Kappan
 Thomas Kane and Douglas Staiger, ―Volatility in School Test Scores:
Implications for Test-Based Accountability Systems.‖ Brookings
Papers on Ed Policy, No. 5, 2002
 Jonah Rockoff, ―Information and Employee Evaluation: Evidence from
a Randomized Intervention in Public Schools.‖
 Rockoff, ―Subjective and Objective Evaluations of Teacher
Effectiveness: Evidence from New York City.‖
 Institute for Education Sciences, DOE, ―Error Rates in Measuring
Teacher and School Performance Based on Student Test Score Gains.‖
 Economic Policy Institute, ―Problems with the Use of Student Test
Scores to Evaluate Teachers.‖
The Best Papers I Read

6.  ―Economists are too dominant in the
teacher-quality debate‖
 Other disciplines, like sociology,
psychometrics, and social psychology
have contributed valuable research on
teaching and learning
But I Also Heard from Sources…

7.  Edward Deci, social psychologist and
expert on motivation: paper on ―The
Paradox of Achievement: The Harder You
Push, the Worse it Gets‖
 Daniel Koretz, Harvard psychometrician,
author of Measuring Up
 Linda Darling-Hammond, ―Evaluating
Teacher Effectiveness,‖ Center for
American Progress paper, Oct. 2010
And So I Spoke To and Read

8.  Michelle Rappoport, former TFA corps
member in Denver, strong supporter of
SB191
 Christina Jean, Denver teacher-recruiter,
cautiously supportive of SB191 and active
with Center for Teaching Quality
 Zachary Rupp, music teacher at the CTU‘s
favorite ―model‖ school, the Math and
Sciences Leadership Academy in Denver,
which uses peer evaluation. Skeptical of
191.
I Called Colorado Educators

9.  Two days in Denver, visit to MSLA
 Three days in Harrison District 2, Colorado
Springs
 Denver panel on ―Waiting for Superman‖
 Pikes Peak Education Association monthly
book club meeting – off the record
 Sit-downs with Sen. Mike Johnston,
Brenda Smith (DCTF), Stand for Children
Events on My 6 Day Colorado Schedule

10.  ―We rolled out a whole new set of tests last week in art, gym, and
music! Everyone is buzzing about them!‖
 ―We‘re having a teacher committee meeting after school!‖
 ―We‘re also doing middle school classroom observations today!‖
 Incredibly open administration introduced me to many teachers
and allowed me to speak to them privately
◦ They selected teachers who had performed well under the
system—all but one openly skeptical of E&R
◦ There was a tone of resigned stress at the teacher committee
meeting; I was able to speak privately to several more
teachers there
◦ This all provided an important counterpoint to the off-the-
record interviews, which had been set up for me by the union
Happy Accidents in Colorado Springs

11. Weeping Woman, Picasso

12.  ―How do you feel when you look at this
painting?‖
 ―What is the woman in the painting doing
that makes you feel that way?‖
 ―Draw three different shapes Picasso used to
show feeling or emotion.‖
 ―Write three colors Picasso used to show
feeling or emotion.‖
 ―Draw three different kinds of lines Picasso
used to show feeling or emotion.‖
Grade 1 Art Assessment

13.  ―In the space below, sketch a happy or
sad picture of yourself. Your sketch must
include different lines, different shapes,
and different patterns.‖
 ―How would someone who looks at your
picture feel? Why?‖
Grade 1 Art Assessment

14. Portrait of Woman in Purple, Matisse

15.  ―The artist used many Elements of Art in
this painting. Write a paragraph about
how the artist used one Element of Art to
show feeling or emotion.‖
Grade 1 Art Assessment

16.  ―Art is an emotional experience that is
mindful of our personal perspectives and
feelings. … Locate and discuss the
characteristics and expressive features of
art and design in a work of art that
initiate specific feelings and/or emotions.‖
 ―Art connects visual stories with literary
stories.‖
 ―Imagination can be used to see reality.‖
State Standards, Grade 1 Art

17. Superintendent Mike Miles:
―The prompt was probably too hard for
first-graders. Next year it will be easier. …
But for the first time, you have art
teachers saying, ‗I‘m going to have to
teach to the standards, not just do
coloring.‘‖
Super’s Comments 1 Week Later

18.  ―Draw a picture of how your hands look while
they are catching a ball that is thrown above
your head.‖
 ―What are two rules students can follow so
they do not run into others when running
around in physical education class?‖
 ―A friend of yours has asked you to help him
or her become a better runner. In a well-
developed paragraph, explain two ways your
friend can improve his or her ability to run.‖
Grade 2 Phys Ed Assessment

19.  ―Demonstrate skipping, hopping,
galloping, and sliding while transitioning
on command.‖
 ―Throw, catch, strike, and trap objects.‖
 ―Move to even and uneven beats.‖
 ―The more one performs physical
activities, the more success and fun he or
she will have doing them.‖
State Standards, Grade 2 Phys Ed

20.  8 student performance data points for each
Harrison teacher
 In art, 7 of the 8 are tests like these; 1 is a creative work
of art
 All 8 together count for 50 percent of evaluation score
 8-16 ―spot‖ observations – surprises, 10-15
minutes each
 Several period-long, pre-scheduled observations
 Teacher‘s individual ―Student Achievement Goal‖
 ―Leadership‖ qualities
How are these scores weighted?

21.  40 percent of score: Teams of peer
teachers observe each colleague for 5
instructional hours per semester
 60 percent of score: Student achievement
as measured by school-level assessments,
portfolios of student work, and
standardized test scores
Evaluation at MSLA

22.  If 51 percent of a teacher‘s evaluation comes
from evidence of student academic growth,
how do we measure that growth?
 Will the measurement tools be holistic
(portfolios) or more quantitative (tests with
wrong/right answers), or some combination
of the two? How will the combo be weighted?
 Are the tools developmentally appropriate?
 And even if student assessment tools are
high-quality, are they improving instruction,
teacher quality, and teacher retention, or just
leading to more test-taking time?
Key Questions

23.  Harrison Superintendent Mike Miles
named a Broad fellow
 Miles wins ―Communicator of the Year‖
award from Colorado School Public
Relations Association
Since I Wrote the Piece…

24.  We still don‘t know exactly what role testing
will play in evaluating teachers under SB191
 EdNews Colorado: ―The council is
recommending that CDE develop state
assessments for science and social studies,
work with school districts to develop
measurement and assessment methods for
non-CSAP subjects, and to organize a state
study of how to best measure academic
outcomes for students in preschool through
grade 2.‖
But More Importantly…

25.  Be in touch with me!
 dana@danagoldstein.net
 Twitter: @danagoldstein
 www.danagoldstein.net
The End!