“Fear Invites Wrong Figures” W. Edwards Deming

With the release of our testing results – both End of Grade and End of Course exams as well as the ABC growth and high growth progress, it is time to review a few basics about the aim or purpose of education.

Let me begin with a few comments about “high stakes” testing.

I think many of us are in shock but not surprised at the news of scandal in the Atlanta Public Schools regarding what appears to be 10 years of abuse, deception and fraud with “high stakes” testing.

Daily, revelations of wrongdoing, exposing the ills of what has to be the absolutely worse fears of high stakes testing – cheating by adults, are now seeing the light of day.

In our four years together, I have repeatedly stated that it is not raising test scores that matter. Rather, it is the enduring habits of learning that will serve each learner, each individual for a lifetime that matter most.

Chasing a test score for sake of accountability cannot easily explain, excuse, or dismiss how the educators as well as administrators of Atlanta did wrong to children. The depth of dishonestly ultimately hurt children as well as each community where deliberate choices were made to alter, change, falsify, or take “short cuts” on administering and reporting testing results – just plain wrong!

Our integrity, character, and intentions will not escape public doubt, skepticism, or cynicism given these shameless acts of selfishness.

Suffice; every educator suffers from these actions.

Moreover, the students in Atlanta that were denied the authentic assessment of instruction and learning will suffer now and for years to come – possibly a lifetime.

Failed learning as well as the failure to learn ultimately hurts both teachers and learners. The timely opportunities that authentic performance feedback provide both teacher and student that could have, should have, and would have been used to prevent further failure are now proverbial water under the bridge.

The lost time, lost opportunity, lost learning serves only to widen “a” gap further – a gap that separates more than proficient from non-proficient learners.

The gap I am speaking about is the gap of choice versus no choice.

This gap manifests itself in our system especially when we review the performance and progress to date.

If we cannot significantly address and correct literacy deficiencies we will not drive system-wide improvement. These deficiencies impact our county, state, and nation.

Specifically, we know entering 7^th grade next year that 6 out of 10 students met proficiency in reading on their 6^th grade End of Grade assessment. This is an accomplishment. However, it also means that 4 of 10 will be starting 7^th grade deficient in the skills necessary to be successful at the secondary level. Further, we know that only 38% percent of students entering 8^th grade are beginning their last year of middle school proficient in reading.

We have a plan to aggressively address this deficit – it won’t however involve changing, altering, test results.

The complex work involved in addressing deficits in literacy especially adolescent literacy will require “different”. We cannot and will not simply resume the instructional year with the same strategies, routines, and practices that resulted in our current reality.

The laser focus, intensity of addressing failed learning as well as the failure to learn is a system, school, and classroom issue. To that end, staff has and continues to work this summer to ensure we are ready to implement effective instruction. In a like manner, administration is also ramping up their skill and knowledge in the critical area of instructional leadership.

The events in Atlanta are a reminder that there are no shortcuts – no easy solution to improving teaching and learning. The fear of being identified as low performing or under performing is not the “right” fear. We must look at fear differently.

The real or true fear is in a reality called the “knowing and doing” gap. If we know what to do but have not done it – that should be our real fear – knowing but not doing.

Deming was right, “fear does invite wrong figures”. Yet, our fear should not be driven by an accountability system that uses a single metric to judge our work. Rather, our fear should guide us to seek different practices and strategies that result in deeper learning – enduring learning.

The present accountability system will eventually be seen for what it is - nothing more than “the emperor with no clothes”.

We must, therefore, focus on those factors we have the greatest influence and control – effective instruction, constant and consistent feedback to inform of and for learning, and creating and sustaining both a safe and orderly environment and an environment rich with high expectations for both behavior and performance albeit teacher or learner.

If we focus on these things, we will not only see learning improve, we will see the “choice” gap close so that each learner has the skills, knowledge, and experience to choose their future – their destiny.

Failed learning as well as the failure to learn hurts students, families, and communities. When the adults charged with the responsibility to ensure students not only learn but also excel in their learning fail to authentically and accurately assess and report student performance, we as a society fail – this is neither the aim nor purpose of education.

We know better!

We must do better!