Accountability...wow, such a loaded word! It's supposed to be the holy grail of what will fix all that is wrong with education in our country (NOT!) and yet it's also one of the most hated words amongst those who are actually in a position of educating. There appears to be a definite disconnect and a lot of misinformation about what accountability is and why it's really a good thing, at least to me.
Whenever I'm with a group of educators actually talking about teaching "accountability" inevitably comes up. It is often defined synonymously with "testing", and shrouded in anger that the collective WE are the only ones being held accountable, not students, not parents, not society, not...whatever. It's a fairytale of the wicked witch that we tell ourselves to keep from changing the way we think about how we do things. There is, however, another fairytale, shrouded in just as much anger, resentment, and truth:
Once upon a time, not too long ago, there was a shared sense of responsibility for student learning. Parents were responsible to make sure their student attended the house of learning (as they still are today), and many took personal responsibility to remediate any behavioral issues that might keep the teacher from handling his/her responsibility. The teacher had the responsibility of delivering the collective knowledge (canon of literature, mathematical equations and "facts", scientific methods and theories, and civic obligations via accepted histories). Each teacher had a different method of delivery, but very few delivered in different ways. There were the lectures, the worksheets, the notes, the memorizations, the discussions, the practices, the readings, and the occasional group projects. There were also the don't-write-with-that-hands, turn-your-paper-like-suches, and don't-question-mes. Teachers were teaching as they always had because it worked for them, so it should work for everyone. Administrators were responsible for the smooth running of the school and the discipline of children who weren't meeting the behavioral expectations set for students. The plan was to keep "bad" students from disrupting the teaching in the classroom. The responsibility for learning, however, was on the student alone; if they didn't accept the collective knowledge as their own or respond appropriately to the delivery methods used, then their grades suffered. Everything was graded: classwork, homework, quizzes, tests, behavior, participation, following directions (separate from behavior?), organization, neatness, everything! Students who were ahead of the curve already knowing the material were given A's, praised for being "smart" and given the privilege of helping the teacher grade everyone else's work. Those who were behind the curve either worked really hard to keep up with the curve or were left to sit quietly while the others moved along from one lesson to the next--"You earn your grade by what you do, so no one is to blame but you."
Ok, so the fairytale above is a little tongue-in-cheek, but not so far removed from the reality of education pre-accountability. Of course there have always been great educators who cared about whether their students learned the material and they naturally differentiated or sought help when they didn't know what to do. Of course, there were parents who fought to make sure their children left school with more knowledge than that which they entered. And then there are the students who didn't get it, and didn't have the support; those who just put their heads down to not cause a disturbance to the "teaching" going on around them and left with less than that which they entered. There are also the students who didn't quite get as far as they could have because it was enough to know they could pass the test (even before they walked in the classroom). There was no reason for these students to work hard or learn how to persevere because "learning" was natural for them.
We've always been good at teaching to the middle because it's where most of us are comfortable. I'll admit that MY story is also in that fairytale as both a student and a teacher. I loved school because I got it; it came naturally, and it was the one place I could control how adults saw me. I got the praise when I passed 4th grade tests I could've passed in 1st grade, and I loved helping my teachers. I thought that what my teachers were doing just worked, until I grew up and saw how many of my peers were illiterate and unprepared. Then I went into education and fell into the same pattern of teaching the way I "learned" forgetting that learning for me came easily. Did all my students learn, NO! Did half of them learn? Probably not. But I learned. I learned that their learning is just as much my responsibility as it is theirs, almost more so because I have to first help them learn how to learn my content and from me before I can hope that the majority of them learn said content.
You see, it's not accountability that's the problem; we have to, NEED to be held accountable, and I believe the majority of us in education don't mind being held accountable. The problem is the way in which we're held accountable, and the ways in which we talk to each other about it that makes the situation that much more unbearable. Holding us accountable for performance on a one-size-fits-all test makes everyone uncomfortable, but most especially those who have tried their hardest to get away from one-size-fits-all teaching. "Teaching to the test" becomes a survival plan for too many who have been beaten down by a system and society that constantly says they're not good enough. We're told to focus on growth in student learning as our accountability model, and yet we're still praised for proficiency numbers, that include those students who were already proficient the day they stepped in the classroom. As a teacher, I learned from my students that I needed to be held accountable for the majority of their learning. As an aspiring administrator, I feel accountable for the learning of the students AND the staff who serve them. I'm not afraid of accountability, but I question the validity of the way in which we're held accountable and the credibility of the information disseminated with the sole purpose of pointing fingers and placing blame.
Whenever I'm with a group of educators actually talking about teaching "accountability" inevitably comes up. It is often defined synonymously with "testing", and shrouded in anger that the collective WE are the only ones being held accountable, not students, not parents, not society, not...whatever. It's a fairytale of the wicked witch that we tell ourselves to keep from changing the way we think about how we do things. There is, however, another fairytale, shrouded in just as much anger, resentment, and truth:
Once upon a time, not too long ago, there was a shared sense of responsibility for student learning. Parents were responsible to make sure their student attended the house of learning (as they still are today), and many took personal responsibility to remediate any behavioral issues that might keep the teacher from handling his/her responsibility. The teacher had the responsibility of delivering the collective knowledge (canon of literature, mathematical equations and "facts", scientific methods and theories, and civic obligations via accepted histories). Each teacher had a different method of delivery, but very few delivered in different ways. There were the lectures, the worksheets, the notes, the memorizations, the discussions, the practices, the readings, and the occasional group projects. There were also the don't-write-with-that-hands, turn-your-paper-like-suches, and don't-question-mes. Teachers were teaching as they always had because it worked for them, so it should work for everyone. Administrators were responsible for the smooth running of the school and the discipline of children who weren't meeting the behavioral expectations set for students. The plan was to keep "bad" students from disrupting the teaching in the classroom. The responsibility for learning, however, was on the student alone; if they didn't accept the collective knowledge as their own or respond appropriately to the delivery methods used, then their grades suffered. Everything was graded: classwork, homework, quizzes, tests, behavior, participation, following directions (separate from behavior?), organization, neatness, everything! Students who were ahead of the curve already knowing the material were given A's, praised for being "smart" and given the privilege of helping the teacher grade everyone else's work. Those who were behind the curve either worked really hard to keep up with the curve or were left to sit quietly while the others moved along from one lesson to the next--"You earn your grade by what you do, so no one is to blame but you."
Ok, so the fairytale above is a little tongue-in-cheek, but not so far removed from the reality of education pre-accountability. Of course there have always been great educators who cared about whether their students learned the material and they naturally differentiated or sought help when they didn't know what to do. Of course, there were parents who fought to make sure their children left school with more knowledge than that which they entered. And then there are the students who didn't get it, and didn't have the support; those who just put their heads down to not cause a disturbance to the "teaching" going on around them and left with less than that which they entered. There are also the students who didn't quite get as far as they could have because it was enough to know they could pass the test (even before they walked in the classroom). There was no reason for these students to work hard or learn how to persevere because "learning" was natural for them.
We've always been good at teaching to the middle because it's where most of us are comfortable. I'll admit that MY story is also in that fairytale as both a student and a teacher. I loved school because I got it; it came naturally, and it was the one place I could control how adults saw me. I got the praise when I passed 4th grade tests I could've passed in 1st grade, and I loved helping my teachers. I thought that what my teachers were doing just worked, until I grew up and saw how many of my peers were illiterate and unprepared. Then I went into education and fell into the same pattern of teaching the way I "learned" forgetting that learning for me came easily. Did all my students learn, NO! Did half of them learn? Probably not. But I learned. I learned that their learning is just as much my responsibility as it is theirs, almost more so because I have to first help them learn how to learn my content and from me before I can hope that the majority of them learn said content.
You see, it's not accountability that's the problem; we have to, NEED to be held accountable, and I believe the majority of us in education don't mind being held accountable. The problem is the way in which we're held accountable, and the ways in which we talk to each other about it that makes the situation that much more unbearable. Holding us accountable for performance on a one-size-fits-all test makes everyone uncomfortable, but most especially those who have tried their hardest to get away from one-size-fits-all teaching. "Teaching to the test" becomes a survival plan for too many who have been beaten down by a system and society that constantly says they're not good enough. We're told to focus on growth in student learning as our accountability model, and yet we're still praised for proficiency numbers, that include those students who were already proficient the day they stepped in the classroom. As a teacher, I learned from my students that I needed to be held accountable for the majority of their learning. As an aspiring administrator, I feel accountable for the learning of the students AND the staff who serve them. I'm not afraid of accountability, but I question the validity of the way in which we're held accountable and the credibility of the information disseminated with the sole purpose of pointing fingers and placing blame.
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