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This article discusses how teachers who work to improve students test scores are leaving a lasting impression on their students. The more education they are getting by "good teachers" increases the students chances of succeeding. Teachers are working to improve these students test scores and while they are doing this the students are learning more than just what is needed to pass the tests. Schools need better teachers to help students in the long run.

"Mr. Jones might regularly help raise test scores more than Ms. Smith, but maybe that is because his students are from wealthier families, or because he has a harder-working class - factors that can be difficult for researchers to discern. " This quote stood out to me because it is similar to the argument against merit based pay for teachers in Indiana. We all know that students come to us with an array of prior knowledge, much of which is based on previous experiences and their environment. However, all students are capable of academic growth. What's the harm in evaluating teachers based on the growth their students made during the school year?

I knew I want to be a teacher since fourth and fifth grade when I had Mr. Cearfoss. He was one of those effective teachers who changed my life by making me feel successful on a daily basis and believe that I could be successful on a daily basis if I saw value in everything I did. Kind of deep for a fourth and fifth grade teacher, but I remember him attending my baseball games late in the evenings and calling home when he thought I was slacking. He made it clear to me, and the rest of the students, that while he cared about our education in his classroom, he cared even more that we used our education to make the right decisions in our lives after we left his classroom. The average effect of one teacher on a single student is modest. I did not find it surprising that, according to the article, "All else equal, a student with one excellent teacher for one year between fourth and eighth grade would gain $4,600 in lifetime income, compared to a student of similar demographics who has an average teacher. The student with the excellent teacher would also be 0.5 percent more likely to attend college." This is the power that vested, compassionate teachers can have on a student's life. While some of my students will say they like me and others will say the exact opposite, all my students would say that I care about them and care about their success. When a student feels that a person, especially a teacher, cares and believes in them, that student will strive to retain that faith others have in him/her.

The article brings up a good point about all the different efforts and fads. While on the one hand it's commendable that a number of initiatives are attempted to improve student learning and students' experiences (and they all likely have various degrees of success), this does beg the question of how much might be TOO much. For instance, if multiple efforts are piloted within a school district, how long is it before there is pressure at other schools to adopt one model that shows promise? If there is struggle with one pilot program, how long does it take before there is pressure to abandon it in favor of another endeavor? There are a variety of questions that can come up, and it can just add to the layers of complications that students and educators face. With the world of standardized testing, deadlines and results-based outcomes, I think there are times that certain initiatives may be hindered simply by the pressures of a certain expectation of immediate results that fail to fully take into account the students and educators properly.

Austin and Jenn- The immediacy for results is true. We are a nation of we want it fast, and we want it now; however, this is not possible nor is it reliable. The need for answers only causes stress and irritability in our school systems. Sadly, the pressure to perform on tests and other assessments negates students overall comprehension and engagement within a class. It also limits a teachers ability to teach. It is complicated. I do not think there is one answer. I don't think there is an easy answer. However, I do think that there needs to be a bigger fight for students. It is my belief that this fight starts with eliminating the presence of instant failure, otherwise known as standardized tests.

I have spent many of my research classes studying the effect positive parenting has on education. With all of the fad ideas that have come and gone, reaching parents has been an initiative that has made a significant difference. Now we come to the dilemma. Unfortunately, we can't control what happens to the students away from our care, so how can we replicate the same results? I have no doubt that reformers will continue coming up with new ideas to try.

I am sure most of you have already seen this video. Although it does not make the distinction between urban schools or suburban schools, it is one of those videos that is funny because it is sadly so true. It focuses on testing, and well, I will let the video speak for itself.

I had never seen this before! Thanks for sharing. These lyrics caught my attention the most: "Remember your teachers, their jobs are at stake. Your score is their score, but don't get all stressed. They never teach anything not on the test." This reinforces my beliefs that teacher evaluations should not be based solely on student performance. For older students that may be aware if that were the case, I can picture some being so stressed because they really like the teacher, and I can picture some taking advantage of a way to get back at a teacher they don't like.

Love it! Scary, yet true. Arts are so important. In high school especially, these are the classes where students build the best relationships with the teacher. These relationship are so importnat and when the pressure is off because the students are in a class they enjoy then they are open to conversation with the teacher. Sometimes students just need someone to listen.

You and Jenn must have been thinking alike when you choose this NYT article :) I liked the perspective and follow-up that the author provided. This article did tie into the Kennedy text and sparked some new ideas/perspectives. With the new RISE evaluation, it is hard to swallow that your students' performance of standardized tests can/will affect your teaching career/performance. My kids will never pass ISTEP but does that mean I'm a bad teacher? I know in my heart this is not the case. However, some people in their glass houses may think differently.

This article discusses the teacher turnover rate in one group of New York City schools; many of the teachers are either being fired or resigning for their own reasons. While it is definitely important to have the best teachers possible in the classrooms, it seems that schools might not be going about this in the best way possible for the teachers or the students.

Edward, I completely agree with your image of a "bad" teacher and I honestly have never seen one myself either! I know some that might be a little burnt out, but they are still trying their best and doing everything they can to teach their students. I realize that this must not be the case in every school, or at least I am assuming there must be some really "bad" teachers out there since everyone seems to be so eager to get rid of them! And yes, your point about the bottom third is also important--even if every teacher in the school is working hard and doing their best, there still has to be a bottom third that will get fired...

Austin, I would also be interested in hearing from these teachers. If I were in a position like that I think I would feel like I have to keep looking over my shoulder and making sure that I am making administrators happy, rather than focusing on effective teaching strategies for my particular group of students. No two classrooms of students will ever be the same, and that should be taken into consideration accordingly.

This article contains information about reform efforts in IPS, special education reform initiatives, and examples of success for IPS.

After reading this article, did you find that the implementation and reform initiatives were working? Not having worked in Indianapolis, I cannot be an accurate judge of the influence these ideas of success are having on IPS. I was just wondering what your thoughts were regarding the reality of the changes and the effectiveness?

I think looking at the beginning numbers before they changed the schools around is interesting to what they are after. The graduation rate has gone down, but the middle school and elementary testing scores have gone up. This could mean that as these younger students get older the graduation rate will increase.

This article highlights some of the changes that suburban schools are just now facing, that urban schools have been facing for years. 

I thought the first section you highlighted about kids and their parents perceptions is valuable. It is a 2 way street between home and school and it has to be united for student success. If parents are not supportive and can not help their students, clearly there is going to be decrease in student performance. I think families are the most important relationship to establish. There are so many different groups that need to come together in order to fix this crisis...the thought seems difficult...almost impossible.

One point that I thought Kennedy left out of her arguments was parent support. Oftentimes, students are coming to schools with their parents' view of school, both positive and negative. If parents had trouble in school or have negative feelings toward schooling, they are less likely to be positive about it with their kids. The amount of support at home can make or break a student. Furthermore, reforms can come and go, but parent support is often the determining factor of success. This trend may begin to exemplify that notion as both urban and suburban schools face the same issues. I will be interested to see if the parents of the students in suburban schools are much more supportive and the difference that will make when the playing field is evened.

Take two kids, one from a low-income family, the other middle class. Let them run around and do little-kid things in their respective homes and then, at age 5, enroll them in kindergarten.

I feel this shows how important it is to start educating children at a young age.

This topic/article really strikes home for me. One of my dearest friends works in Mississippi in a Pre-K class. Her effervescent personality, dedication, and perservance would make any child want to come to school. She is in a very high poverty school system but overcomes this obstacle in her teaching and with her students. Preschool children are at an age where money and SES have no baring but influence and change do. Thanks for sharing this article!

Most of you have probably heard of the Halem Project or the Harlem Kid Zone. Most of the critics have cited its dependence on high levels of funding. In the interview Canada mentions the funding cutbacks and challenges. What I like about it is the comprehensive approach to reform. It's not a 7:30 - 3:00 job.

I don't understand how this reform is fiscally possible. Canada mentioned that they had around 10,000 kids in the program and that they had an original budget of 200,000,000 dollars. He then said that it was cut to 10,000,000 dollars. This may be a model that works but the costs seem to be astronomical and any sort of school reform that is going to be widespread will need to not be dependant on expensive programs. Kennedy mentions that reforms fail because teachers give up on them when they don't see results right away and in this case the programs will likely fold because the improvements will either not come right away or not be deemed significant enough to justify the budget required.

I had forgotten that this was a model that was sought to be replicated across the country because of some of its successes in being able to address some of the major issues facing students in the Harlem Children's Zone. An article from 2010 addresses some of the successes, but also points out that the efforts have seen their share of struggles too, including a class of students that was completely dismissed because of students' academic performance, something that public schools would not be able to do (Otterman, 2010). The article also criticizes the funding that is spent per student on average, which also does not include everything that the organization provides to students, and the community as well (Otterman, 2010). It was noteworthy that, at least when the article was written, most of the funding was attained through private donations, though the government was beginning to try to allocate more federal funding to such initiatives. I think the biggest thing I take away from this is the realization of a variety of factors that influence students' performances in the classroom. While people typically focus on how well students do on tests and papers, other areas of their life (such as long-term or short-term illnesses, home life, etc.) unquestionably impact how students do in schools. As many people suffering challenges in their life would see that affect their performance at work, so to it influences students. The organization has done a great job of trying to address a lot of these different areas in an effort to improve students' performances (and, for that matter, their lives). Otterman, S. (2010, October 12). "Lauded Harlem schools have their own problems." New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/education/13harlem.html?pagewanted=all

The article, by Jonathan Mahler, was about the heroic efforts of Ramón González, the principal of M.S. 223, a public middle school in the South Bronx, to make his school a place where his young charges can get a decent education and thus, perhaps, a better life.

Educational reforms are rarely about students and while they typically boast the mission of "student success" the majority of teachers and educators I have come into contact with feel a great disconnect between those enacting reforms and the needs they have in the classroom. One of Abraham Lincoln's strongest leadership principles was to "ciculate among the troops" however, it is a very rare event for central office leaders in a school district and the legislators that pass reforms actually set foot in a school much less engage with the teachers who are "on the front lines" in order to learn what the struggles are in today's educational environments.

I think while us (teachers) are wanting reformers to take a "walk in our shoes" with what goes on a day-to-day basis, we teachers have to stop and think no matter what we judge, or want to believe, we have no idea what goes on from the time our students leave in the afternoon until the time they come back the next day. This article goes to show that "yes," 80% of a student's learning comes from school, but then there is that 20% that needs to come from the home.