How can teacher accountability have a positive and a negative influence on the classroom environment?

June 1st, 2010 | by admin |

Standards-based education can sometimes put
pressure on teachers to be sure they ‘measure-up’ to the expectations of state standards.
How can teacher accountability have a positive and a negative influence on the
classroom environment? Respond to classmates’ post from a parent perspective

While I can’t possibly imagine a teacher giving answers to a test (but I’m sure it’s happened), a bigger more general problem with teacher accountability is that the teacher naturally places more emphasis on how to pass the test than on the intended curriculum of the course. From a parent’s perspective, this means the teachers are "teaching to the test" and only worried about the bonuses that come with good scores. On the flip side, some teachers NEED to have standardized testing to truly hold them accountable. I personally think this means these particular teachers have no business in the business, but either way, it’s good to make sure teachers are doing their jobs. From a parent’s perspective, it’s certainly nice to have concrete numbers about your child’s educational progress. Standardized tests do this for them.

  1. 3 Responses to “How can teacher accountability have a positive and a negative influence on the classroom environment?”

  2. By justmelissa2 on Jun 1, 2010 | Reply

    The positive aspect is that it will push teachers to try harder and work with the children that are struggling,the negative aspect is that some teachers will cheat by giving answers on standardized tests.
    References :
    have witnessed it at my daughters old school

  3. By elizabeth_ashley44 on Jun 1, 2010 | Reply

    While I can’t possibly imagine a teacher giving answers to a test (but I’m sure it’s happened), a bigger more general problem with teacher accountability is that the teacher naturally places more emphasis on how to pass the test than on the intended curriculum of the course. From a parent’s perspective, this means the teachers are "teaching to the test" and only worried about the bonuses that come with good scores. On the flip side, some teachers NEED to have standardized testing to truly hold them accountable. I personally think this means these particular teachers have no business in the business, but either way, it’s good to make sure teachers are doing their jobs. From a parent’s perspective, it’s certainly nice to have concrete numbers about your child’s educational progress. Standardized tests do this for them.
    References :

  4. By anna4coggno@ymail.com on Jun 1, 2010 | Reply

    State power over education is a tricky issue. Historically, local government has exercised control over U.S. schools across the country, including decisions about school standards and classroom learning content.

    But in 2001, Congress signed into federal law the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which reinstated a number of federal programs designed to improve school performance by increasing state, school district, and school standards.

    The NCLB is controversial for a number of reasons, upsetting both parents and teachers across the country. Many doubt its effectiveness in actually improving school performance.

    Actually the NCLB might even lower states’ achievement goals by encouraging teachers to teach learning content solely as preparation for standardized tests.

    One 2008 study from the Department of Education concluded that the Reading First Program, a major billion dollar a year NCLB initiative, had proven ineffective.

    Here are some articles on this issue:

    http://k6educators.about.com/cs/professionaldevel/a/standtests.htm

    http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/articles/volante.html

    http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/44978/the_truth_about_teaching_to_standardized.html?cat=4
    References :
    http://www.coggno.com/

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