Paraphrased from Reign of Error by Diane Ravitch
School reformers who lobby our state legislators say that the single biggest difference whether students succeed in school, or not, is the quality of their teacher. They claim this quality is not determined by teacher credentials, experience or education but by performance measured by student test scores.
This simple argument is difficult to refute because the answer is much more complex and often comes off as making excuses. Good teachers are important, yet learning that shows up on tests is affected by a great many factors, many of them outside of school and outside the control of the teacher. These include:
1 The education level of the parents.
2 The presence or absence of peers and siblings who value education and are willing to try their best (called peer effects).
3 Being frequently read to.
4 Use of complex language and an extensive vocabulary when parents talk to their children.
5 Extreme economic stress so there is no stable or secure home life.
6 Prenatal care.
7 Proper preventive health care.
8 Poor parental health.
9 Ability to travel or visit nearby cultural experiences to stimulate curiosity and desire to learn.
10 Live in a zip code where there are no educated adult role models
The claim by reformers is that great teachers can overcome the influence of family, poverty, disability status, language proficiency and students own levels of interest and ability. The reality is that the vast majority of influence on students' school performance is from their family and their circumstances outside of school. Sometimes our greatest success comes in important things that are taught and learned but cannot be tested. Growing desire to come to school, to try, to trust someone, to feel safe, to have friends, to laugh, to take responsibility...
This is not a call to give up. We recognize how the deck is stacked against some of our students, yet we try to overcome it every day. The reformers simply want to stack the deck against us too.
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