According to Dylan Wiliam, schools are missing the mark all over the world, and it's clear that teacher quality is the determining factor in student achievement. After about 18 pages of that, he says, "Evidence suggests that paying teachers bonuses for the achievement of their students does not raise test scores...[Many economists] assume that people are motivated primarily by economic rewards and so offering cash incentives for people to try harder must surely increase results. They forget that such incentives work only when people are not trying as hard as they can...The vast majority of teachers are trying everything they can to increase their students' achievement. There is certainly no evidence that there are teachers who are holding onto a secret proven method for teaching fractions until someone pays them more money."
p.18-19, Dylan Wiliam, Embedded Formative Assessment
That mystery pretty much sums up what I've been thinking about this week.
p.18-19, Dylan Wiliam, Embedded Formative Assessment
That mystery pretty much sums up what I've been thinking about this week.
Wow. That about sums it up! Hmmmm, think I'll be mediocre until I get something in return, not! I think that the powers that be prey on the altruistic nature of teachers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ms. Zimmer. Yes, I really appreciated Wiliam's articulating this for me. I read something else about this today in Hidden Lives of Learners, which I recommend...people get it, and boy am I glad to have it told to me!
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