Was the U.S. education system actually fixed?
FOR STUDENTS
In the past, poor children and children of color were not admitted by the American schools. Fortunately, some political leaders did their best to combat this serious issue. They decided that it would be a great idea to measure progress in order to achieve better results in the educational sphere. An actual essay on the education system in America. will give you more information on the process and different aspects.
For more than 30 years teachers had ‘Data Days’ when they were obliged to analyze data connected with students` assessments, attendance, and behavior. However, it seems that such data approach isn`t working today. In fact, this hunt for data only hinders the actual learning process.
In 2001, the key legislation that mandated annual testing was adopted by Congress. This new law required the data-standardized tests which soon revealed that the American students struggled to do math and read. What is more, it showed that the American teachers were failing. In order to solve this program, the federal Race to the Top program decided that the teacher impact should be measured. As a result, teachers began to put up data walls in their classrooms and set SMART goals for their lessons. But why do we need this abundance of numbers? Why do we need to over-test student learning to the detriment of learning itself?
The question is whether all this data that is so difficult to get will help the leaders to make better decisions. There are too many students who are learning too little these days. But it seems that this data is insufficient because it won`t help us find solution to this problem. The data-driven reform is just meant for convincing teachers of the need to change.
We should not turn our educators into data analysts. They just should strive to become better teachers. Of course, we won`t be able to know whether our students are learning without looking at the results but will this data change their attitude to learning? There is one important thing that we should have control over – the quality of teaching. We should clearly understand that the teacher is considered to be the most directly responsible person in the process of learning. He or she is the one in charge of making students learn and benefit from the quality of his teaching.
Effective questioning and use of assessment by teachers are among the most important aspects of the quality of teaching. Teachers should be well aware of how to review previous learning, provide model responses for students, introduce new material progressively, and give adequate time for practice. All in all, the government should improve the quality of the nation`s teacher force by insisting on better prepared and abler teachers. It will lead to the rise of teaching quality and the student performance will respond as well.