Here’s an Even Better Idea!

Here at the Save Our Schools protest and conference, we heard a lot about what’s wrong with No Child Left Behind. Shout “no more high-stakes testing!” and every parent, student and teacher there knew what you were talking about.

The problem with the fight against high-stakes testing—and its parent law NCLB—is that getting rid of this top-down policy is only half the equation. If we want the Obama administration to respond seriously to a protest of their ideas, we’d need to provide new ones. We must replace NCLB with something better.

Fortunately, schools across the country are demonstrating successful models for strengthening teacher performance that can and should be used nationwide. In programs developed at the Alameda County Office of Education’s Art IS Education, we are using classroom-based, teacher-driven assessments of student success and learning to help teachers reflect on what they’re doing right and what they need to do better.

Then, through our Teacher Action Research Institute, we provide an ongoing network of training and support to help teachers improve their work—like using the arts to make curriculum in other subjects come alive for students. Studies over the past ten years prove TARI is working, but we think our Principals make an even more compelling case.

Principal Garry Grotke Discusses the Teacher Action Research Institute from ACOE on Vimeo.