Changing Reader Theories/Beliefs of Reading: Scenario One: Text Structures of Assessment

I've been spending some time with 5th, 6th, 9th, and 10th grade folks. We talked. We laughed. I listened to them read and write. I watched them form letters with pencils. I watched them type. We talked about their thinking and how they made decisions. 

Basically - I learned their theories of reading. Their beliefs. And in almost every case, I can pinpoint an assessment practice, curriculum, or pedagogical approach associated with the timeline of legislation or the pendulum of popular thought on how we are supposed to teach. We - the political engine, the commercialization and big business of curriculum, the teacher-pipeline, the assessment-data-standards regime, war, and the cultural-historical approach to teaching how we experienced and were taught - we did this. So did poverty and trauma (Dr. Paul Thomas). And so did too much data. See previous post.

Enough on the problems. 

When you listen to a kid read, you get a pretty good idea of what they believe about reading. 

Scenario One: 

2024 English I STAAR

"H" read aloud for me...He began..."I must admit..." and immediately, I stopped him. You see, he - and every child we talked to that day - had skipped the italicized introduction. 

The italics ARE a key part of understanding the context and trajectory of the story he was about to read. 

In addition, "H" missed that"from"in the title meant that what he was to read was only a small portion of a larger text. "H" did not read the title; therefore, he had no context of the topic, genre, or importance of the text in general. Essentially, "H" does not understand the text structure of digital assessment and excerpts. Any problems with answering questions and overarching considerations about success on the multiple choice are now invalid. The data from his assessment don't mean much, and now his response has also skewed the collective item analysis for the whole data set. 

Most of the time during our data dialogues, we'd look at the items "H" missed and say that he needed work on 6A, 4F, 6D, 8A, 8D, 8B, 4E, 8E, 5B, including SCR, and Multiple Select items. 

Um. No. The gatekeeper to comprehension on this piece is the italicized context. The solution has nothing to do with teaching more lessons on any of those TEKS. The solution stems from contextualizing the characters, setting, and motivation of Mr. McGill. 

And we figured it out by asking some kids to read to us and show us what they do when they take the assessment. 

The Problem with Data is Itself

 STAAR, MAP, DIBLES, Dabbles, Dribbles...

The problem with data is itself. (Caveat - I do love a significant item analysis paired with their stimulus.)

There's just so much data. And we collect more of it before we can do anything with what we already have. 

And...none of it tells you why there's a problem. We never know what really caused the results. 

And...none of it tells you what we can do about it. 

Ah. Kid - you failed STAAR again. Kid, you passed that test, but you didn't show growth. Kid - you are a hopper -you moved from one data bucket to another: GOOD JOB.  Kid - you are in the low approaches bucket. Teacher - your kids aren't on track to pass this year. Let's have a data-dig-dialogue and talk about all the data that shows we aren't where we want to be. Teacher, looks like your kids need more on 13A.144.56F. What did you do wrong to teach that? 

Um. Y'all. This discussion is nuts. We waller around in statistical **** that doesn't tell us what we are using it for. (I've blogged about that before...for example, STAAR isn't meant to be a single TEK focused instructional tool. It's to be considered as a holistic view of whether or not a kid is on grade level.) 

If we haven't acted on the data we have, new data isn't really going to tell us something we didn't already know other than there are kids rising and falling for some invisible reason. We can't show causality or even correlation with instructional/programmatic/curricular actions. 

If the data don't tell us why, then we probably aren't making good instructional decisions for anyone. 

If the data don't tell us why, then we certainly can't tell how we should respond to individuals or collections of them. 

Honestly, the problem with data is that it is legion (Mark 5:9). Ubiquitous. And most of the time absolutely a waste of time and money. Unless you talk to the human that took the assessment. 

Only then, can the teacher as scientist and artist, master of the instructional craft and relationship with the learner, make powerful decisions about what that person needs next. Understanding why and how requires a transaction (Vygotsky - sociocultural acquisition) with the learner about their transaction with the text (Rosenblatt) and the author and their own learning processes (Hattie). Data can't do that. The master teacher - in relationship with the learner and with deep instructional pedagogical prowess - the teacher can do what no data can. 

(I'll be writing next about how we can listen to kids read, talk to them, and understand what causes their responses to reading, writing, and thinking.) 

Vouchers: A Conversation with Representatives

Follow the sequence with me. And then I'll share some insights. 

I posted this on Facebook:

Then I wrote to my representatives. 

Subject:
Vouchers: No

Message:
I don't guess you need a long email of reasons. I encourage you to go against anything about vouchers disguised as school choice. I encourage you to fund - fully fund all state mandates and support teachers and schools with living life in this century. Sincerely, Shona Rose, PhD Texas Tech, West Texas A&M, Unity Learning Communities

I received this response on Feb 10th. I did not hear from my senator. Probably because the bill has already left that side of congress.  

Dr. Rose,

 

Thank you for reaching out to our office and letting Representative Fairly know about your stance on school vouchers. I am sorry to hear that you are worried about the potential impacts of the bill, but I can promise you that Representative Faily is dedicated to the Panhandle and wants to make sure that if vouchers pass, they do not harm rural school districts. She understands the vast importance of public schools, and what they mean to local communities, the communities she represents most of all. We will make sure that she is aware of your position and your reasoning! Please never hesitate to reach out in the future, whether you have questions, a policy preference or anything else in between!

 

Take care,

 

Michael Davis

Legislative Director

State Representative Caroline Fairly

Capitol: 512-463-0470

Insights

Representatives are listening and responding. 

They are looking at your social media and digital presence. 

The language of "if vouchers pass" does not make me feel better.