Another great column from Myra Blackmon in the Athens (Georgia) Banner-Herald, explains the education industry and its obsession with data.
She writes:
“Some folks believe that if you can’t quantify something, it isn’t worth bothering with. People in power are often so obsessed with the data, the numbers, and the profits they often lose sight of the people behind the information.
Such is the case with the massive educational “evaluation” being pushed by so-called reformers. Many of these high-level reformers — Bill Gates, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others — know little or nothing about teaching and learning in our public schools. Bill Gates’ children attended Lakeside Academy in Seattle, where tuition approaches $30,000 a year. One of Michael Bloomberg’s daughters was featured in a documentary “Born Rich” about growing up with tremendous wealth.”
PS: the editors should note that Bill Gates put $200 million into the Common Core standards, not $200,000 (which would be chicken feed for Gates).
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Even $200 million is chicken feed for Bill Gates. According to Forbes in September 2013, his net worth was $72 Billion.
$200 million is 0.277% of the total. It’s like spending $200 dollars when you have $72,000 in your pocket.
And Bloomberg.com reported this year that Gate’s net worth has increased to $78.5 Billion. So, he spend $200 billion to destroy the public schools while his fortune grows by more than six billion dollars.
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Correction (tried this earlier and it didn’t go through):
So, he spend(s) $200 Million. . . “
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when elected officials allocate funds, they know they’re likely to be held accountable, so they want data to justify their actions. not sure what ‘some folks believe’, but i’d say the trouble w/ what can’t be quantified is that it’s awfully hard to study n evaluate objectively.
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It is actually possible to conduct nuanced qualitative and supporting quantitative research using instructive indicators and meaningful measures of how well institutions and organizations are achieving their goals, with feedback about what needs to be done when they go off course.
But that kind of guidance from data makes sense only if all concerned keep their eyes on the prize, never forgetting the long-term purpose of the enterprise.
The problem here lies with the hidden agenda of the corporate raiders who have a totally different game up their sleeves from the espoused mission of universal free, democratic education.
So of course they try to keep everyone focused on crazy meaningless nonsense data.
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Exactly.
I’m always bothered by statements that something CAN’T be done. We are almost certainly wrong to state that such things CAN’T be quantified. The question is whether we’re willing to put the resources into meaningfully doing so, and whether having such a method is even worthwhile.
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Corey,
No, we are not “almost certainly wrong to state that such things CAN’T be quantified.” Those “such things” can’t be quantified in any logical and rational way. It’s not a matter of if we are “willing to put the resources” into attempting, it’s a matter of recognizing that to do so would be a waste of valuable resources from the start.
There are many things that “can’t” be done in this world and part of becoming a knowledgeable person is understanding that fact.
By my guestimate from your post, you probably aren’t more than about 25 years old which is not meant to be a derisive statement just a guess by some old fart Spanish teacher. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Duane
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“whether we’re willing to put the resources into meaningfully doing so, …”
Lets don’t and say we already tried it.
And it didn’t work!
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Duane Swacker & Ang: re over-reliance on numbers and stats, I will channel a little Banesh Hoffman, THE TRYANNY OF TESTING (2003 edition of 1964 edition of 1962 original, p. 143-144):
“The most importance thing to understand about reliance on statistics in a field such as testing is that such reliance warps perspective. The person that holds that subjective judgment and opinion are suspect and decides that only statistics can provide the objectivity and relative certainty that he seeks, begins by unconsciously ignoring, and ends by consciously deriding, whatever can not be given a numerical measure or label. His sense of values becomes distorted. He comes to believe that whatever is not numerical is inconsequential . He can not serve two masters. If he worships statistics he will simplify, fractionalize, distort, and cheapen in order to force things into a numerical mold. The multiple-choice tester who meets criticisms by merely citing test statistics shows either his contempt for the intelligence of his readers or else his personal lack of concern for the non-numerical aspects of testing, importantly among them the deleterious effects his test procedures have on education. …
Because the statistics usually cited as justification for the use of multiple-choice tests ignore the non-numerical aspects of both testing and its side effects, they are, in fact, far from being accurate measures of the whole merit or lack of merit of tat procedures.”
Thank you for your comments.
😎
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The online version has been corrected to read “$200 million” instead of “$200,000” and my editor ran a correction in the print edition.
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Myra
Your comment is perfect and exact!!
“they often lose sight of the people behind the information.”
They do…The students are data points on a trendline created by some glorious software program or excel…..or placed in a colorful pie chart, histogram, or Bar Graph…
Then the graphs are printed in color on expensive paper or in a boring Power Point Presentation, sent to to the CEO’s to evaluate and determine what company will be chosen to create the next Test(s) so the bad teachers can be kicked to the curb.
BTW..Lets call our investment broker and get in on a few shares of the Chosen Company!!
There are no children !!
There are Robots and Dots!!!
I will not even call them points because all these Powers that be see are DOTS and SPOTS..
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That’s right, a lot of what teaching is about CAN’T be quantified.
We work with severely disabled students at the high school level in NYC. Many of these students have multiple handicaps, they are unable to speak or fend for themselves. They must be changed and toileted by paraprofessionals at least 3x a day, fed by paraprofessionals, and constantly monitored to ensure that they are not suffering after effects from mini strokes or other medical problems that they experience during the day. Much of the day for these students is taken up by toileting, feeding, and special services.
Instruction is sandwiched somewhere in between.
Yet, these students are expected to participate in NYSAA ( New York State Alternate Assessment), be “engaged” by the teacher during a lesson ( many are on heavy sleep inducing drugs), and are held to the standards imposed on the school by NCLB and Race To The Top.
I’d love to see the politicos and media visit schools such as ours, just to observe what one day can be like for our kind of students, and the hard physical and emotional work that is performed by teachers and paras ( a HUGE shout out to the paras, by the way). Realistically, many of these students will never be “college or career ready”, yet teachers are held to the same standards for these students that those in General Education are.
How can what we do be quantified for these students? I’d love for anyone with similar experiences in working with this student population to share their opinions.
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Hey, here’s a thought! How about assessing the value of our educational system by the decrease in the poverty level, because skilled, educated students become contributing members of a working economy? How about a decrease in the percentage of people on welfare and government assistance? How about a resurgence in business, industry and thriving economy? There are all manner of indications that our society’s young people are educated and productive, besides a spreadsheet and numbers.
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How about changing that to “assessing the effectiveness of our elected officials for supporting public education by the decrease in the poverty level …”
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When one says “most” or “more” or “least” or “less”, isn’t that a quantification?
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Losing it here TE, but to what in the post and thread are you referring?
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To say that something matters most is to create an ordering, a list, of the most important to the least important. Label the most important as 1, the next most important as 2, etc, and it would seem that you have quantified, in an ordinal sense, teaching.
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Quite correct in that an ordinal listing implies a certain importance in the matter. The problem lies in the definition of what is important and how that effects the ordering..
However listing something in a supposed order of things doesn’t make it “true”. And the numerization (that is the putting of a number on some aspect that defies numerization) doesn’t make that ordering “true”. Simple logic dictates that numerization doesn’t equate to measuring and/or logical ordering.
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The original post claims there are things that matter most, that is would be placed fist in the list of what matters in teaching. You might well dispute the original claim of the post and say there is nothing that matters most in teaching or, for that matter, matters least.
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TE,
You are quite correct that I would say “there is nothing that matters most in teaching or, for that matter, matters least.” I don’t think thinking in terms of superlatives and/or worst labels.
Other than to say the edudeformers’ educational malpractices are the worst effin thing one can imagine if one is talking about “improving” the teaching and learning process.
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Yet I would assume you would require fluency of any Spanish teacher. Not all aspects of teaching are equally important for every subject at every level.
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I believe the biggest problem that educators have to face is that our field is led and heavily influenced by persons who have never taught in a classroom. They have never been teachers, administrators, or served in an academic setting yet they are making all the calls. These people do not have a complete idea of how the learning environment should look and what it takes in order for students to learn. They have placed so much value on various assessments and standardized testing that it’s sickening. I personally believe that it is all political and about making money. The focus of education being student centered has been lost for a long time. We (educators) need veteran or seasoned teachers influencing these big decisions that are always being made for us. The public school system is one that needs the most attention and an increased budget, yet private schools get it all. This has to be fixed or it will merely be a repeating cycle that will worsen over the years. Students have lost their passion for learning and teachers have lost their passion for teaching. The real question is, how do we get out systems back? I have been searching for a solution to this for a while.
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Cierra, join the Network for Public Education. We share your goals. It will be a long struggle to restore education to educators.
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When I was teaching special education at the junior high/middle school level, I wasn’t focused on whether my students were going to be college or career ready in 5-6 years, nor were they. They were kids worrying about whether they would make the basketball team or if they would be invited to so-and-so’s overnight. They worried about other kids thinking they were stupid when they thought they were stupid themselves. I used to ask them when we were all comfortable together how many of them thought they were stupid. I won’t tell you how many hands went up. School had definitely kicked them in the teeth and I spent a lot of time helping them to see their gifts. In the low socio-economic high school in which I taught, none of my students hoped to earn anything beyond a certificate in a program at the local community college. Most of my older students knew that they would be taking minimum wage jobs, if they were lucky, with assistance from local social service agencies. My job was to help prepare them to fulfill those roles and to become confident, competent, socially responsible members of their community. If anyone knows hardship, they did, but they also had respect and compassion for those who faced those challenges with dignity.
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Excellent post 2O2T, I wish you were still in the class room but I understand why not.
“I wasn’t focused on whether my students were going to be college or career ready in 5-6 years. . . ”
That’s one of those NSS* statements. Why would anyone at that teaching level even think about those things. Hell, I went through high school not giving a thought to that stuff. That career and college ready blather is mind boggling.
I’m sure I would have enjoyed being in your class!
*”No Shit Sherlock”
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I think I would have liked having you, wise a**. 🙂 I know I would enjoy taking Spanish from you. You might even teach me all the swear words. The internet sure helped me in deciphering my Latino students’ profanities. Incidentally, I knew the NSS without the footnote. I’m so proud of myself! I went through high school and college pretty much clueless, too. I’ve fallen into most of my life.
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” I’ve fallen into most of my life.”
I think that there are a lot of people out there that don’t understand how one would “let that happen” to them.
Although I think we might need a better term than “fallen”, a tad negative unless you mean “free fallen”. Gonna have to think on that one a bit. “Stumbled”, no, that ain’t it.
An interesting concept 2O2T. Anyone got a good term for not having an overriding sense of control of our life and what happens?
Help me out, please!
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It was not lack of control. My choices have been very conscious but without a five year plan mentality at least initially. You have to understand that I grew up in a time period where it was expected that women would get married and where their career would be secondary to their husband’s. When I graduated from college with a BA in Psychology, there were not a lot job opportunities that did not involve typing as the most important skill a “gal” could have. I consciously fought being a teacher because that was one of the only careers women could have. I won’t bore you with the whole saga, but I spent five years in a private school and finished my M.Ed (and certification) while raising my family. When I did go back to work full time, one district in which I almost took a job did not offer health insurance to their mostly female staff because most of the teachers got insurance through their husband’s employer. That was only twelve years ago! (The union got health insurance in their next contract, but I was employed elsewhere as a parapro with benefits.) By then, I was making more conscious plans that just didn’t happen to agree with the plans of the powers that be, or I would still be in a classroom.
By the way, of course you wouldn’t teach your students las palabras malas. My students were very impressed that I never swore and were quite proud of me. When they realized that I understood what they were saying in Spanish (a la the internet), their language cleaned up quickly with no intervention on my part other than an eyeball or a suggestion that I didn’t quite hear them correctly.
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But I don’t and never will directly teach students “las palabras malas”. I’ll tell them where they can look outside of class, but don’t teach them directly.
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I find this post interesting because I’m right in the middle of reading Reign of Error, and all throughout the book, you discuss Gates’s involvement in the “corporate reform”. What really sucked me in to continue reading was on page 16 where it is explained that the Common Core State Standards were never tested and then the in-depth explanation of corporate reform and how much influence Bill Gates has on the education system. First of all, it is ridiculous that so many states are implementing CCSS without any quantitative data showing its success or failure. Also, the fact that Bill Gates has the amount of power over education that he does is concerning. There is so much stress put on test scores, grades and percentages (all quantitative), yet we’re implementing a curriculum with no field testing. That’s a little backwards. None of these corporate reformers have stopped to consider the everyday successes and failures behind those scores. Nobody is concerned about the hours of tutoring that may be happening, or the amount of support a teacher may give to his/her students. These reformers portray a critical issue within the US education system, despite steady growth in NAEP scores. What hasn’t seemed to be taken into consideration is the amount of students that are homeless and only get two warm meals when they come to school. You don’t hear about the amount of time so many teachers put in after school to ensure that students have challenging work to complete. Test score data is far from the most important thing in education; but unfortunately, quantitative data is the only thing most reformers care about or speak about.
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