AJC Columnist Points to CSD for Possible Education Answers in WSJ Op-Ed
Decatur Metro | July 18, 2011 | 9:36 amDHS teacher Chris Billingsley points to a recent op-ed in the WSJ by AJC Columnist Kyle Wingfield, where he recaps the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal, scolds those who say that less emphasis should be put on standardized tests as a result (In his words “…that makes as much sense as saying the Tour de France should de-emphasize racing times this summer, or not keep them at all, because some cyclists have been caught doping.”), and points to the City Schools of Decatur for a potential solution…
Still, there may well be better ways to use tests to measure teachers’ effectiveness while reducing the temptation to cheat. One possibility that’s already being tried by a number of school systems, including the one in nearby Decatur, Ga.: so-called value-added tests, which gauge a student’s progress over the course of a school year rather than merely determining whether the student is performing at grade level. A teacher who brings a fifth grader from a second-grade reading level to a fourth-grade level, for instance, has helped him make up a lot of ground in one year. She shouldn’t be punished because he’s still behind.
Mr. Billingsley says “He must be referring to…the testing program we use (called MAPP).”