Reciprocal Accountability

I think the idea of "reciprocal accountability" is a breath of fresh air.

I think educators should go further and set up reciprocal accountability at a local, state and national level.  For example,  teacher effectiveness should be correlated to a range of factors that are informed by students' SES.  What is society doing (via a local, state or national infrastructures) to foster the conditions that will help teachers be more effective?  Suggestions include:

1. Children are well-rested and well-fed.
2. Children have opportunities for quiet-time to reflect about their learning and/or do homework.
3. Children have safe and numerous opportunities to play/participate in recreation outside of the school environment.
4. Children have access to fully-funded libraries with fully-supported technology.
5. Children have access to school facilities and programs, via public funding, that reflect those in wealthy independent schools.
6. Teacher:student ratios reflect those of highly successful independent schools (after all, if it's good enough for wealthy kids, it should be good enough for poor kids).
7. Children have access to full healthcare.
8. Children's families have access to home ownership and job counseling.

Susan Moore Johnson, John Papay, Randi Weingarten and W. James Popham all refer to the acute impact of SES on effective teaching.  Give urban or very rural teachers these pre-conditions and we will reciprocate!

"Teacher Effectiveness" & Self-Assessment

I don't think you can assess teacher effectiveness through students' test scores.  Standardized state tests  assess student effectiveness --- at taking tests. 

Alternatively, I would like "teacher effectiveness" to be a reflection of my ability to:

• Cultivate safe classrooms (physically, emotionally, intellectually)
• Advise and mentor individual and groups of students
• [Re-]organize curricula to meet students' interests
• Vary instruction and assessment to address students' needs
• Communicate with colleagues, families, school partners
• Design professional development that enriches the above criteria
  

  If you could design the criteria for your own "teacher effectiveness," what would it look like?

Teacher Effectiveness and Reciprocal Accountability

According to an article in the Washington Post (Mar 2, 2010), President Barack Obama has condoned the mass firing of teachers at Central Falls High School, one of RI's poorest high schools:

"If a school continues to fail its students year after year after year, if it doesn't show signs of improvement, then there's got to be a sense of accountability," he said. "And that's what happened in Rhode Island last week at a chronically troubled school, when just 7 percent of 11th-graders passed state math tests -- 7 percent." 

-Barack Obama

Of course such low scores on the state's math tests are sad.  However, before we conclude that the teachers are accountable for such low scores, we should consider the issue of reciprocal accountability.  Specifically, we can ask what kinds of supports were in place to make sure that teachers could be effective.  If teachers are going to be accountable for student achievement, then teachers can require that schools, LEAs and state education departments provide the context for student achievement.*

Within schools, reciprocal accountability can mean many things.  Most importantly, teachers need to have the time to co-plan and influence school-wide policies.  I wonder if Central Falls had any reciprocal accountability in place?

Questions to consider with regard to reciprocal accountability:

• Professional development (PD):  Are teachers involved in creating and facilitating their own PD?  Teachers are in a perfect position to align district priorities with the interests and needs of their students.  Why not create working groups in which teachers run PD alongside school and district administrators?
• School Climate: Are teachers examining the research on school climate and then developing policy that matches their school's needs?
• Assessment:  Arguably sub-set of PD, teachers could be looking at a variety of assessments that help them know how students are growing academically - - - and socially.  Everything from state-level standardized tests, district-mandated tests, formal and informal assessment, portfolios, rubrics and project-based learning should be up for discussion.  Each of these has a profound impact on how teachers organize their curricula and how students experience their learning.  

By providing time for teachers to reflect and co-plan,  schools and districts will be providing one aspect of reciprocal accountability. What does reciprocal accountability look like to you?

* Up next: considering society's reciprocal accountability to teachers.