The most effective test prep is good teaching

Well, it’s that time of year again.  The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, the grass is greening, the trees and flowers are blooming and the Commonwealth is emerging from a cold, gray winter and bursting to life once again.  Yes, spring has sprung in Kentucky.

Yet, many in the education world view this as the season of dread. It is, after all, the time of year when our students sit for state exams.  Testing is a hot topic across the country.  We worry about over testing, “teaching to the test” and the stress our students incur as the result of testing.  Assessment and accountability have become interchangeable words and both have made us change our perspective on education.

As we move forward into a new era of assessment and accountability, I believe it is time to change this mindset from one of testing trepidation back to a demonstration of the learning that has taken place over the course of the school year. There are several things we need to remember for this shift to happen so that we can be most effective educating all of our children.

First, testing is not new. Students have taken tests since education began.  All industrialized countries test students and participate in international assessments.  I took tests as did anyone who ever went through K-12.  However, since accountability has focused so intently on state test results, it seems to have created a loathing and opposition to all testing. We always need to be mindful of why we are testing. Assessment has its place; it is needed to ensure all students are learning and getting an equitable education.  However, assessments must be high quality, aligned to rigorous standards, and must not be the only measure we use to determine the excellence in education.  That last point is key.
I often speak of my three pillars of education: equity, achievement and integrity.  All of these relate to assessment, but are not defined by it.  In fact, many think when they see the word achievement, it is determined solely by assessment.  Of course assessment is part, but not all of the equation.  I believe our students must be able to demonstrate achievement in many areas.

Closing the achievement gap starts with closing the opportunity gap.  Access to various opportunities for learning must be available to students both within and outside of tested subjects.  Opportunities in the visual and performing arts, STEM, science, social studies, career tech education, and any non-tested or limited-tested subjects have value, can increase student engagement and will lead to a well-rounded, educated and employed populace.  It is why our new accountability system must look at the inputs into the system and not just the outputs.

Additionally, we must remember that the most influential factor in all of education is the teacher.  It is unfortunate we often forget this.  In my opinion, we spend way too much time and money on test prep programs and not enough on one single, simple truth – the most effective test prep is good teaching.  I understand not wanting students to walk into a high stakes test unawares.  As a former AP teacher, I would have students practice problems periodically.  What I did not do is stop instruction for a month to “prep” my students.

It is time we realized that waiting until the end of the year and cramming their heads with information they didn’t relate to or get the first time around, going over the same material slower, and with additional worksheets is not the answer.  It’s our teachers who are.

I strongly believe, and research supports this, that if teachers do what effective teachers do and give great instruction and reteach when necessary along the way, the test is just an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know.  So again, the best test prep is a great teacher giving great instruction throughout the school year. I am hopeful we can change the narrative in the future of Kentucky education. Great learning opportunities for all students plus great instruction equals great achievement – that is the equation for education success.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, but there is no where I would rather be than here in Kentucky working with our educators for Our Students, Our Commonwealth.

Every Student Succeeds

On Thursday, November 19, a potentially historic event occurred. A bipartisan conference committee made up of members of the U.S. House and Senate, including Congressman Brent Guthrie from Kentucky’s 2nd District, agreed on a framework for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently known as No Child Left Behind.

This is a big deal for so many reasons. In fact, I was doubtful it could happen this year. But, if things go as planned, the actual bill, known under the compromise as the Every Student Succeeds Act, will be filed by the end of the month, with a House vote the first week of December and a Senate vote shortly thereafter.

Another reason this is a big deal is that, if passed, it will give a lot of accountability control back to the states. The framework includes some significant changes and some things that will hold steady. Annual assessment in English/language arts and mathematics for students in grades 3-8 and once in high school remains the same as the old law. So does testing once per grade band in science along with a few more items. However, determining big pieces of accountability – including how we determine our lowest five percent of schools – will be left in large part to the states. This is both exciting and scary. We, and when I say “we” I mean all shareholders in Kentucky, have a moral obligation to develop a system that represents a quality education for all students.

We do not yet know the timeline for implementation, but it will be my intent to take our time and take deliberate steps to gather feedback before, during, and after development of the system. I am not saying I know how we will do this – that is why shareholder engagement and guidance is so important.

However, there are a few things that I think are non-negotiables. First, we cannot back away from disaggregating the data to ensure all students, including our at-risk and struggling students as well as our gifted and talented students, are getting a quality education. This cannot only be just in mathematics and reading. Another non-negotiable for me is that the system must not narrow the curriculum in a way that does not support the whole child or a student pursuing his or her interest. If our goal is to ensure that every student has the opportunity to choose his or her own direction after high school, we must provide them with all the opportunities we can including the arts, career-technical education, science and social studies, just to name a few.

As I said in last week’s blog, the opportunity gap is a major issue that must be addressed if we hope to close the achievement gap. I do not believe we should develop a system that looks only at outputs (state assessments) and does not look at inputs. So, we have to consider how we will evaluate the quality of the student experience. This means we will need to find ways to leverage collected data and evaluation at the school level in a way that supports good decision making for students.

Finally, I think it is critical that we create a system that holds districts and schools accountable, but also it should celebrate schools that are innovative and are finding creative ways to meeting their students’ needs.

Again, I am not saying I know how to do all of this. I have some ideas, but we as an education community have a moral imperative to ensure a quality education for ALL students. For me, that means that every child that walks across the stage at graduation has the choice of where their life will take them. I believe we have the intellectual and compassionate capital to do this.

In my first month on the job, I have been validated in my reasons for wanting to be a part of the Kentucky education community. I do not know of another state with a group of educators and partners who are more committed to the welfare of our students than we have in Kentucky. I am looking forward to all of us uniting and working together for all of our children and the good of the Commonwealth.

A tough, yet passionate bunch; and thoughts about testing

Week two is complete and it was another exhilarating week. I am still learning about the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), our various initiatives and listening to our shareholders.

Over the past week, I had an opportunity to meet many district superintendents. At the Kentucky Education Development Corporation (KEDC) Board Meeting, I met more than 60 superintendents, provided an introduction and listened to the biggest issues facing them today. In addition, I was able to share in the victories as KEDC gave banners to celebrate their districts’ and schools’ achievements from the past school year. On Wednesday, I met with 16 members of my Superintendents Advisory Committee. Also, I had the chance to meet briefly with some new superintendents as they were undergoing training.

Superintendents are a tough bunch, but they should be. They have the responsibility for every child in their district. They also are not a shy bunch. During these meetings, I heard a lot of concerns and challenges that superintendents are facing every day and their priorities as we move into our biennial budget legislative session. I appreciate that input.

Later, when I was talking with a completely different group of people, I mentioned these three meetings. The people I was meeting with asked if superintendents gave me a tough time. My answer was simple, ‘No, they are just taking care of their teachers and kids. Isn’t that what we should all be doing?’ 

You see, when in meetings with people passionate about their work, sometimes you hear things that are not very comfortable or that you do not want to hear. And if those people have lost sight of the end goals because they have their own agendas, it makes for a painful meeting. But that was not the case with these superintendents. They love their students and their educators – and that leads to them loving a very tough job. So, it is my privilege to work alongside superintendents who work hard to make sure their district will improve the lives of their charges. In taking the position as commissioner, I had hoped that would be the case, and now after spending time with them over the last week, I am sure of it. I am excited about spending time with more superintendents next week at the Green River Regional Education Cooperative.

As a final note for this week, I feel the need to address the issues raised last weekend at the federal level regarding testing time. There is no doubt our students participate in many tests during an average school year. From a philosophical standpoint, I believe we must focus on instruction first, then use assessments to aid the teacher in making the instructional changes necessary to support their students. Quality, focused instruction that engages the students’ ability to think, apply and build their knowledge in a way that supports understanding of concepts is paramount to a student’s ability to be college-, career-, and life-ready.

As with all of our programs in the coming weeks and months, we will be discussing the state assessment system and how we can best support our districts and teachers. I believe this is something we should all do. Simply testing students does not tell us anything if we are not confident that any assessment administered is aligned to the standards of a particular grade or subject area. So, as we move forward, I hope we will all evaluate our assessment systems to ensure that teachers are allowed to be the innovators they were born to be and work to cut down on testing that does not give us the information we need to support a child’s learning. We must not forget, that is why we are here. 

As always, I am honored to be your Commissioner.

Stephen Pruitt