Teaching to the test can be a good thing

For years, education reformers have sought to tie teacher evaluations to student test scores.  That effort is finally expected to bear fruit next year, when student scores will become a required part of a teacher’s evaluation.

Other measures of teacher success will also be part of evaluations; school officials are still working on measures of student achievement other than testing that will also be part of teacher evaluations.

But the fact remains that teachers will be evaluated on how well students score on state tests. Many educators take exception to this plan, arguing that it results in teachers teaching to the test. The issue was raised at Sussex County's Today & Tomorrow conference, and the result was surprising.

Craig Technologies’ Don Hollenbeck told the crowd testing is important, and it doesn’t stop when students get out of school. Every job candidate who comes through his doors takes an employment test. Many fail.

Hollenbeck said employers expect employees to be able to read instructions, measure accurately and do basic calculations. Those are the skills measured on employement tests; they should be skills measured by state tests.

No one advocates mindless drilling of facts or giving constant practice tests and calling it teaching. But thousands of hours are spent deciding what students need to know, and that’s what is supposed to be on state tests. If teaching to the test means ensuring students learn what they need to know to succeed, then why shouldn't teachers teach to the test? If students learn what’s expected, they should be ready for whatever comes next, whether it’s more school, more training or work.

Tying teacher evaluations to student test scores is a logical step in this process. Good teachers will continue to find creative, engaging ways to ensure students learn, just as they always have.  This system should also allow administrators to identify teachers whose students are not learning; teachers whose students are consistently not learning should not be in classrooms.

The most critical test of a teacher's performance is whether students are learning. Basing part of a teacher's evaluation on student test scores is an idea that's long past due.