Measuring Student Growth

In my experience as an educator,  I have found that teachers look at student data subjectively – through the eyes of the beholder.   Now, this isn’t necessarily the absolute truth, but teaching is a subjective profession (as there always seems to be conflicting opinions on what determines effective education.  Just turn on the news to find conflicting opinions or follow Diane Ravitch on Twitter for just a taste of  the educational unrest that occurs daily.

Mastery connected to student growth

Some teachers look at mastery of a concept or objective as a student receiving 90% or more correct on an assessment or unit.  It varies,  some would say 85% +, but it all depends on the teacher and what the district considers mastery.  But … what if instead of looking at mastery as a quantitative %ile measure, let’s look at individual student academic growth as a valuable measure.  You may say that that’s fine in theory, but how is growth measured and isn’t that subjective??  Well, grading in general is subjective – depending on the teacher’s grading methods.  How do educators and administrators measure individual student growth?

Just like measuring your height with a ruler, educators and administrators should have an accurate tool to measure student learning. Administrators and teachers need to be able to leverage student achievement data to improve learning.  Larry Cuban’s post addresses this issue in this insightful post.  To learn is to grow, at least in the sense of bridging and gaining an understanding of new concepts.  When students master a concept, I would assume that they are growing, at least in an academic  sense.  I’ve been on somewhat of a quest to understand how to effectively measure  student growth in order to become  a better educator.  Using NWEA’s MAP assessment gives a minimum picture of growth, but that is one measure.  Even NWEA has made a general statement that teacher employment decisions  should not be tied with student growth results from the MAP.

Another test that some educators might bring to light are  state standardized tests.  I don’t feel like these tests actually measure growth.   You can look at how a student performed in fourth grade and then fifth grade, but that’s not necessarily comparing growth.  These types of tests are more of report that answers the following question – Did the student meet the bare minimum standard for the state?  Even Education Secretary Arnie Duncan, has voiced his concerns, saying “The current bubble tests do little to assess critical thinking or anything beyond the most basic skills. His stance is refreshing, but once again, this is not a  solution-oriented stance; more so just accepting that there’s a problem.  Also, by the time the state tests come back, it’s a new school year and new agenda items are on the plates of administrators.

When students grow, what types of tools are available to measure how much they grow and how are those growth results compared to the national, state, or even school average?I believe the new Common Core may help answer this questions as objectives become more aligned, but not fully.  Also, a PLC or PLN may assist in helping solve this question.  Just a thought for today …

Disclaimer (unfortunate but necessary) :  The thoughts and opinions expressed in these pages are my own, and not necessarily the opinions of my employers.