The states ranked highest in student performance are not the ones that rely on "high-stakes" tests, Stanford University's Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond told a joint hearing of the Senate Education and Assembly Education Committees on Teaching and the Profession Feb. 7.
Darling-Hammond called for five major actions to bolster the teaching profession and boost student performance:
Boost salaries - "Raise teachers' salaries to market levels with allocations to districts based on the number of qualified teachers," suggested Darling-Hammond. This would help focus attention on getting and keeping qualified teachers.
Provide fiscal help to would-be teachers - "Subsidies are needed to get teachers into high-quality preparation programs - including forgivable loans and scholarships," she said.
Enhance teacher preparation - California should provide "incentives to improve the quality of preparation and professional development programs," she told lawmakers.
Focus on performance or formative assessments - Darling-Hammond noted that the state has opportunities to build on the strength of current assessments by focusing on performance or "formative" assessments and critical-thinking skills, instead of using high-stakes tests. She said schools should look more favorably on incentives than punishment. "In high-ranking states, test scores cannot be used to determine grades or deny graduation," she said.
Redesign schools - "California still relies on the factory-model schools - [instead, schools should be] more supportive of time, relationships, and curriculum for achievement." She noted that it is harder to staff the factory-model high school that dates from the 1920s. "Nobody wants to work in those settings. They are very difficult places in which to be successful."
These changes, she said, are "important for kids and for attracting and retaining teachers."
Len Feldman