EVERY Child Left Behind!

You would think that with billions of dollars spent on the No Child Left Behind act, there would be considerable progress as far as improving test scores in our public schools.

You would be wrong.

Poor performing schools, for the most part, are still performing poorly, and I know why.

Schools don't focus on RESULTS.

Correction: Schools don't focus on RESULTS THAT COUNT.

I will give you an example. I teach at a poor performing school in Atlanta. I rarely see any of my administrators. They are locked away in their offices doing paperwork for NCLB.

A couple times a year, an administrator will pop into my room, NOT to watch me teach and offer suggestions. No, they pop in to make sure that I have the correct content (student work, vocab words, etc.) on my walls. They actually record their findings on a clipboard!!

Recently, the administrators have decided to EVALUATE the lesson plans of teachers. They are NOT evaluating the lessons themselves, just the lesson plans. Almost all of the teachers in my building are conscientious in their lesson preparation, but ALL of the teachers think the 3 page form that we must complete every couple weeks is a tedious waste of valuable time.

I am NEVER evaluated on the results that count--the improvement of my students!!! NEVER do the students take a pre-test and a post-test to measure improvement.

In fact, I can't even measure my success against other teachers (to see if they have a better system or better lessons) because NONE of the teachers know if the students have improved.

Without a doubt, I am frustrated that my superiors judge my teaching performance on what is on my wall and how nicely I have presented my lessons, but they don't judge my performance with regards to student improvement.


Interestingly, I have been slow to apply what I know to be true to my own business. Sometimes, I "work" hard on my business, but I don't measure the results that count and make appropriate changes to get the results I desire. And for that reason, my business is smaller than it should be.

Good luck to all of you, and I encourage you to read Orrin Woodward's and Chris Brady's blog daily. Today, Orrin reminds everyone about the proper steps to reach any goal.