LETTER TO THE EDITOR1
Vandella - I think perhaps you have a misunderstanding of ESSA. ESSA puts all the power back into the hands of the state as to testing. One of the major problems I saw was that you didn't adequately describe how citizens could become involved in your proposal. The other major problem I saw was that you didn't provide a complete description of how the proposal could become a ballot initiative, which was a huge part of the points in this assignment. Keep working on your grammar and writing, because you had grammar and punctuation errors throughout.
Letter to the Editor
Vandella Haynes
POS 500
May 15, 2017
Letter to the Editor
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Whystudents test scores areconsidered so relevant to evaluate teachers and school performance according to the state A-F school accountability system? Could it be possible that the failure is in the requirements of the Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) signed by President Obama on December 2015?
The Act combines requirements that protect and promote the respect for individual learning needs but at the same time make teachers and school accountable for their students’ performance levels. To put this into prospective, we will use examples of ESSA requirementswhich require critical protections for America's disadvantaged and high-need studentswhile all students are taught using high standards of education to ensure they are ready to succeed in college and careers, This information is presented to educators, families, students, and communities through annual statewide assessments to determine the progress made by students according to those standards in terms of achieving them.
The act also supports local innovations in terms of interventions developed by local teachers and that accountability is established in terms of students not making the necessary progress to achieve higher standards of education.In those schools where performing remains low, students are not making progress and graduation rates have remained low over extended periods of time. To make matter worse teachers are blamed for students learning levels, forgetting that such learning is being measured using test scores rather than a abroad approach that considers students individualities to determine the progress made by each student.
Parents and school communities should come together to help the state of Arizona develop an education plan that considers ESSA, as well as the role played by students’ scores in teachers evaluations and the school accountability system. In simple words, the state should consider the benefits of using other progress evaluation methods along with the current AzMERIT system currently permitted by Arizona state laws to comply with ESSA. Arizona must take action now to protect its students, teachers and schools from being misrepresented by the use of a metric system that provides little information about the teachers’ efforts to contribute in the progress of their students, as well as the school promotion of diverse interventions alternatives tailored to the student’s population. Rather than using a single aspect approach, Arizona voters should propose an initiative that would decide how children are educated in the state; after all, the state is using taxpayers’ money to finance education initiatives.
Under the new system, the state will incorporate a system that is led by educators focusing on determining students’ progress based on classroom performance assessments.The state will use the basics of ESSA to create this student personalized system which supports students learning while respecting their individual needs. To determine students’ progress, teachers will incorporate various methods according to students’ interests while making decisions that are in the best interest of students’ progression.The system will give students more responsibility in terms of their interests rather than teaching them under a traditional curriculum and a one approach fits all.
To represent ESSA’s reporting requirements; the schools will rate students’ progress based on a collection of work samplesgathered throughout the school year and a summative assessment created by the teacher in terms of each student’s level of proficiency. Arizona could adopt a model like one adopted in New Hampshire; a state using a Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE) pilot program for the third year. The PACE system includes the evaluation of students’ learning based on teacher-made Common Tasks which are used across districts which facilitates comparing them. Teachers assess students based on local tasks and are required to complete a summarized review of the student’s year. In addition, the state uses the New Hampshire’s Rollinsford Grade School to determine how school-based assessing can succeeds after learning emerges from work guided by teachers that incorporates students’ interests.
References
Strauss, V. (2016) Beyond test scores: The right way to assess students and schools. Retrieved from
US Department of Education (2017) Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Retrieved from retrieved from