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Education consultant Anne Wheelock was asked to "jump in"
to an e-mail conversation with a parent who wanted to know more about what
she should look for in a good middle school.
PARENT: I am a parent who has become increasingly disillusioned with the
middle school concept. Much of my frustration stems from the fact that so
many teachers and principals have become so bonded to the middle school
philosophy that they seem to be unable to step back and objectively ask
whether these practices are resulting in high expectations and achievement
for all students. As long as all of the physical requirements -- teams,
common planning periods, advisory, etc. -- are in place, they seem to be
convinced that we are succeeding. I would like to see our schools redirect
their energies to offering these children the support they need to become
high achievers. What can we do?
Vickie
* * * * * * * * * *
Dear Vickie,
Thanks for letting me join the conversation you have been having about high-achieving
middle schools. You raise a lot of issues, and I'm not quite sure how to
jump in in a way that is succinct but also meaningful.
First, I can understand your concern about the quality of schooling in the
middle grades. There is certainly evidence that bears out your concerns.
At the same time, there is also a growing number of educators who are concerned
about this issue. What is different about these educators -- as compared
to those who have tried to respond in the past -- is that the best ones,
in my view at least, are not just focusing on raising test scores or grades
in a narrow way; they are focused on improving the quality of student work.
By student work, I mean the "products" that students create in
response to good assignments and good teaching that helps them understand
a subject in depth. Educators who emphasize the importance of student work
believe it is important for students to demonstrate their understanding
by putting together something that can be viewed by the larger world outside
of the school.
This is hard! But as an observer of middle schools, I believe there are
some educators who are coming up with approaches that can help guide the
rest of us. One of the most important approaches is the use of standards.
High achieving middle schools are helped by having standards to guide what
students should be learning and how well they are learning it. These "content
standards" are often defined by state "curriculum frameworks"
for different subject areas. These can help schools make sure that all students
in all their classes have equal opportunities to learn what is considered
"valued knowledge." But these standards are only meaningful if
schools use them in the right way. Good schools should be using these standards
by:
1. Providing opportunities and time for teachers to compare the assignments
they are giving all (and I do mean all) students against the content standards
to see if they are actually *teaching* what is called for in the standards;
2. Opportunities and time for teachers to revise work assignments that don't
address content standards so that they *do* reflect high-quality content
standards;
Next comes your question about the *quality* of work the students create
-- with attention to all kinds of skills including the one you highlighted
-- spelling. In my view, good schools that really want to have students
create good pieces of work, have to have teachers who do the following:
1. Show and discuss with each other and with students examples of high-quality
work (both student-created work and others) that illustrates the kinds of
skills and thinking processes they want students to learn;
2. Take the time to discuss with each other and with students the guidelines
they follow to decide how good student work is. In some schools, teachers
are including students in developing those guidelines, which are sometimes
called "rubrics" or "scoring guides." These guidelines
describe different levels of quality -- from very basic to complete mastery.
Again, the guidelines often include attention to *both* specific skills
and ways that students show understanding of the subject area.
3. Allow all students time to revise and revise their work until it meets
standards. When students are working in a culture of high standards, they
don't turn in final work that is not up to scrutiny of their peers, teachers,
and other adults. There is an assumption that all students will produce
good work, and teachers act on this assumption.
4. Display of student work in public places -- including but not necessarily
limited to the school walls, halls, and common areas. Keep in mind that
if students' work is going to go on display, it had better be accurate,
and "proficient" in showing understanding. If the work actually
"matters" to someone -- say, it is a science report to the town
on the water quality in the town, or the level of radon gas in a certain
neighborhood in town -- it had better be accurate. Or if it is a letter
designed to raise money for a particular project that the students care
about, it had better be "letter-perfect" if it is going to accomplish
its goal.
5. Discuss with each other the work students create, use student work to
develop guidelines across a grade, compare final student work to content
standards for evidence that students have actually *learned* what teachers
taught.
6. Prepare students to present final work at an "exit exhibition"
attended by outsiders. Last June, I was a "community reviewer"
for students who were leaving their sixth grade to go into the seventh grade.
Students had to show us their work -- and they also had to assess their
strengths and weaknesses in front of us in a self-critical way and in a
way they showed their teacher had worked with them to improve. Again, since
they have to show work to "outsiders," it has to be up to "real
world" standards in terms of grammar, spelling, and language usage,
or they will look pretty silly -- and both students and their teachers know
this.
I have put this together somewhat hastily. I hope it is not too jargony.
This does not even get into the conditions and supports I think have to
be put into place to allow these kinds of good practices to take root --
professional development, good materials, a belief system that all students
can produce good work.
Hope some of this makes sense. Cheers for now!
Anne Wheelock
Boston, Massachusetts, USA