A Reader Writes... Accountability, A Reasonable Plan - Part 2

In response to the 11/2/2012 post, “Accountability – A Reasonable Plan – Part 1,” an old school LYSer writes:

SC,

I’ll follow your format and respond to your clarifications point by point.

Point 1 - Too Much Testing: I too, like EOC’s and agree we have to test the prescribed curriculum.  Electronic testing would require a huge investment in school technology and infrastructure. This is a problem since the state cut the technology allotment.  And we agree that most of the testing issues arise from administrative rules from the state: small group testing; the prohibition from testing students taking the alternative test in the same room as the regular test, and it goes on and on.

SC – I’m not so sure that the electronic testing option is as cost prohibitive today as it was yesterday.  Defensive driving courses are available to anyone on-line at this time and all that is required is a device and a connection.  As for a state investment in technology, over time the on-line testing would quickly pay for itself.  Pearson may not make $500,000,000.00 on the next testing contract, but call me an optimist, I’m sure they will find a way to stay afloat.

Point 2 – An Irrelevant Curriculum: As I mention in point one, if there is a prescribed curriculum, we should assess that curriculum. 

SC – I’ll take this one step further.  If we have a prescribed curriculum and we do not assess it, then in practice we do not have a prescribed curriculum. Instead what we have is a poorly implemented or completely ignored suggestion.

Point 3 – The One-Shot, High Stakes Test: Agreed. I would suggest a spring test, summer retest, and October retest.  That gives the school and the parent plenty of time for instructional interventions.  If I only had two shots it needs to be spring and October.  Some parents refuse to allow their children to attend summer school. That's a fact of life that schools can do nothing about.  If the student passes any of the three, it counts as a pass for the school. 

SC – We could argue the details of timing until the cows come home.  What is important is that we agree that a no penalty re-test is reasonable and do-able.  Electronic testing would actually facilitate more immediate and focused interventions and reduce the time window between the original test and the re-test.  This is important because the longer the student is trapped in a remediation loop, the further he/she fall behind his/her peers.

Point 4 – An Arbitrary Exemption: Agreed and well stated.

Point 5 – The Standardized Test: Agreed. If there is a way to get Pearson out of our testing business, even better.  Let’s have a standards based test instead of a standardized test.  We could even have a statewide teacher developed question bank for each Student Expectation, built on the model used in the LYS Curriculum Based Assessment process.

Point 6 – You are Only as Good as Your Weakest Link: Agreed again. Yes, a workable solution to this is the Cain Solution: schools get weighting for their populations.  The 90% level for a district like Southlake-Carroll is hardly a challenge. They are already there in all sub-pops (the critical attribute of an affluent minority student is affluent, not minority). The 90% level in most schools would take substantially more work.  This should be reflected in the accountability rating. 

SC – And the accountability system in its current format penalizes the at-risk school while allowing the non at-risk school to simply maintain the status quo. We need a system that forces every school to step-up its game.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A LYS Superintendent Shares... OMG!

A LYS Superintendent writes the following:

SC,

I just spent the morning in a regional superintendents’ meeting.  There are 50 superintendents in my region, 35 showed up.  After 90 minutes of banal topics and conversation we eventually got to "Visioning,” based on a document provided by the state superintendent’s organization.

Keep in mind most of the high schools in my region are Academically Unacceptable. First, of the 35 superintendents present, more than half leave when the "visioning" discussion begins, so we are left with the dedicated, best and brightest.

What did this esteemed group want to discuss? More technology for students and teachers is their first priority, especially BYOD.  I spoke up and said that addressing BYOD was fine, but this alone would not solve the fundamental problem of ineffective instruction in the classroom.  They looked at me like I a slapped a child. 

I channeled my inner Sean, listened, and didn't say another word.  And I thought, “Sean does this everyday.”

Hang in there my friend.

SC Response

Just look at it this way. We are teachers.  Sometimes we have a class full of bright students, sometimes not.  Regardless of who is in our classroom, our job is to make sure that we further the education of each student and position each one for a brighter future.  Sometimes it just takes longer and we have to try harder, but eventually they'll come around.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A LYS Principal Shares - Year 1 Results

A principal shares his first year results after working with LYS.

SC,

I just retired from XYZ school district, a district that you worked with two years ago.  As you remember, I was hired to take over an Academically Unacceptable middle school.  As a result of LYS support, the campus went from low performing to within three students in one student group of being a Recognized campus.  I have attached some charts that illustrate the gains we made in each subject area in just one year. If anyone ever doubts the power of LYS coaching and the Fundamental 5, share our results.

Year One Growth With LYS

READING SCORES	Before LYS	After LYS	Improvement
All Students	74	93	+19
African American	66	92	+26
Hispanic	73	92	+18
White	82	91	+9
Eco Dis	74	79	+5

MATH SCORES	Before LYS	After LYS	Improvement
All Students	69	83	+14
African American	52	77	+25
Hispanic	69	82	+13
White	78	83	+5
Eco Dis	68	83	+15

SCIENCE SCORES	Before LYS	After LYS	Improvement
All Students	47	74	+27
African American	40	55	+15
Hispanic	43	72	+29
White	73	85	+12
Eco Dis	46	72	+26

HISTORY SCORES	Before LYS	After LYS	Improvement
All Students	80	92	+12
African American	78	88	+10
Hispanic	80	90	+10
White	97	96	-1
Eco Dis	80	91	+11

SC Response

Thanks for sharing!  But you give us too much credit.  Yes, coaching and support are important, but you and your staff had to execute the plan with fidelity and urgency. Simply put, “If you don’t work the plan, the plan won’t work.” As such, the improvement actually reflects the commitment and hard work of your staff, students and you. 

I can think of nothing more exciting and inspiring.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A LYS Superintendent Writes... The Hidden Agenda of Choice - Part 1

In response to the 10/25/12 post, “The Hidden Agenda of Choice,” a LYS Superintendent writes:

SC,

Amen to this LYSer. In my district we have watched first hand as students return from suspect charters having been told that the charter cannot serve the child's needs, even though it IS a public school and MUST provide for a free and appropriate education. With the emasculation of TEA and its limited resources, no oversight entity is in a position to address this public school choice experiment's violation.

So, what do we do? We ignore the issues with the experiment so far and say we MUST need even more choice. Private choices. Competition does not make EVERYthing better. Sometimes it merely tramples on civil rights, safety and costs.

Did you make out better with electricity competition? How about state college tuition? How about the run away competition of the late 1800s with no regulations on industry safety?

If you think public charters have problems following the rules... wait for private schools taking public money. Who will police them? I wonder how willing the elite private school will be to accept my high need, ADHD/Dyslexic child in its perfect private world?

Plato always feared a Democratic form of government as rule of the mob. We proved him wrong by educating the mob to a higher level than anyone ever imagined, adding more and more educated voters to our rolls. In the process, we combined democratic principles, with capitalism and free public schools to create the most successful nation state ever.  Now we want to roll things backwards with an Indian style caste system. I weep for the America that my kids may inherit if that happens. Rome may be falling... Like my political, historical and legislative references? I owe everything to my public school education.

SC Response

The push for vouchers raises a number of disturbing, anti-egalitarian issues that the far right is aggressively pursuing.  I’ll touch on the Scary Two.

Segregation: The voucher is the tool of the segregationist.  Look at the typical private school in your community.  You will notice that the student population is predominantly high SES, white, and/or represents a specific denomination.  Public schools, rightly, are prevented from openly perpetuating such a system.  At the private school, not only is this by design, it is a selling point to parents.  Though personally I find it reprehensible, I will defend your right to self-select a segregationist solution for your child’s education.  But I am not willing to fund that option with public money.

Perpetuating a wealth-based aristocracy: The voucher is the tool of the wannabe aristocrat.  An enlightened society works to expand opportunity and create an infrastructure that furthers the greater good.  Public education is perhaps our best example of this.  The community provides a means to educate the masses to ensure that the citizenry is informed, can produce and can create.  There are some (primarily the wealthy and elite) that choose not to educate their children in the public system (as is their right).  In opting out of the system, the wealthy and elite purchases a different peer group for their children (primarily made up of other wealthy and elite children). But they pay for this and the money that would have been used on a now private school student is reallocated to students that remain in the public system.  This is a capitalistic win/win.  The elite (who can afford it) get what they want. The masses get increased resources to further their education and hence expand their opportunity set. 

But the wannabe aristocrat will say this is unfair.  They will say that the fair solution is that the money should follow the student. But let’s look at the policy implications of this seemingly fair solution.

1. The money follows the student from the public school to the private school. This means that the students already out of the public system must first be funded. Now with all things being equal, there is significantly less money to serve the current population of public school students.  So immediately, the non-elite take a significant hit to benefit the elite (Lose / Win).

2. To prevent the significant defunding of public schools, the legislature adds to the education budget the amount that funds the private school vouchers.  Now the state is funding private schools that are segregated, and/or openly promote a specific creed, and are not subject to state accountability standards. Add to that the fact that the elite now receive a financial incentive to participate in such a system (Lose / Win?).

But what about the families that will now be able to let their children escape from bad public schools and enroll in good private schools, because of the availability of vouchers? It won’t happen because:

A. Even with the voucher, the price of tuition will remain price prohibitive to the poor and lower middle class.

B. The soft and/or hidden admission requirements of the private school will not be met.

C. The tuition of the private school will increase to capture the entire voucher amount.

For all the problems (real and perceived) that beset public education, vouchers are not the optimal solution.  For all of the reasons discussed above (and many more), I believe that vouchers are bad public policy. 

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of November 4, 2012

When I talk to campus administrators about embedding the use of bootleg technology in their classrooms, I am bombarded with a variety of reasons why now is not the right time.  However, based on a recent report, yet another common reason “against” has been removed from the equation.

What I often hear is, “The reason why we don’t allow bootleg technology in the classroom is a function of equity. We don’t want to draw attention to the haves and have nots”

This has always seemed like somewhat of a cop-out, but I didn’t possess the preponderance of evidence necessary to sway that opinion. Until now.  Another tipping point has occurred.

As of this year, 50% of high school students and 40% of middle school students regularly use a smart phone and/or tablet. Add to that a majority of parents report that they would accelerate the purchase of a smart phone or tablet for their child if the use of such a device was allowed in school.  What this means is when it comes to bootleg technology, the distinction between have and have not is shrinking daily. And I would argue that as we embed the use of bootleg technology in our classrooms, thus creating a conduit for all children to extend and expand their learning as they use their devices in other settings, we are actually bridging the experience chasm created by economic status.  Making bootleg technology our first universal tool for closing the achievement gap. 

Now some may ask, “Based on some random facts, aren’t you implicating that 1 + 1 = 5?” 

To which I respond, “Exactly. So now what is your campus waiting for?” 

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using your own bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter.  If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us.  To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of November 4, 2012.

1. No coup, no revolution! Just old fashion democracy. Like Churchill said, it isn't perfect but it's the best we have. God bless America! (By @daleemartin)

2. Reading, The Fundamental 5, on my i-Pad. First book I've ever read this way! (By @tjadams105)

3. My current list of the 3 most important elements of the principalship: Communicate; Motivate; Problem Solve

4. Keep in mind that a cute classroom will not overcome poor instruction. Instruction is always Priority One.

5. When instruction is good and improving, the environment can either accelerate or inhibit student learning.

6. Having a room set-up that inhibits student performance is the teaching equivalent to running while wearing a 50-pound backpack.

7. SC - thanks for exposing me to sensible thoughts regarding school culture and change! You are right on! (By @gabbygladis)

8. In 2010, teachers in Switzerland had an average salary of about $112,000 per year. (By @UberFacts)

9. Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle. (By @Sports_Greats)

10. We found out today that, The Fundamental 5 (Cain & Laird), is being used in a differentiated instruction class at Notre Dame!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TASSP Assistant Principals’ Workshop (Featured Speaker), American Association of School Administrators Conference (Multiple Presentations), National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation