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NCLB for graduate school
I know it has been quite some time since my last post. The seeming monotony of my life does not warrant too many new posts, though.
I am taking only one graduate class this semester and by May I should have finished 24 hours of my program in school administration. I have had two classes that I felt were worthy of my time and another one in which the books were good even though the class was a joke. A joke. . . yes, that is the word that I'd have to use to describe my program. I've remained optimistic up to this semester, but. . . I've had it! Let me explain how ridiculous things have gotten in grad school.
First, I have had three classes with this one particular professor. He is an older guy who knows his three lectures that he gives each semester and who recycles his midterms and finals from class to class. This means that I have taken (and aced) a similar test SIX different times! My question is why is this guy not creating tests for each of his classes? How is taking this same test teaching me anything new? It's not, which is why I didn't take another class with him this semester.
Then there was the class where I went and looked at all of these dome gyms, listened to an architect talk about dome gyms, and besides showing up to class I did nothing else for this class. No midterm. No final exam. No research paper. No summary of anything.
This semester I am taking a class called Advanced Educational Measurements. I thought this one might be a little challenging, but by week 2 of the class I knew otherwise. Let me summarize what I've done in this class: I have read aloud a PowerPoint slide after having the professor pull a stick with my name on it out of a cup and I have made a "graphic organizer" of a portion of a chapter out of the text book (with a group of classmates) and then presented the material to the rest of the class. The book has been talking about validity and reliability of tests and assessments and proper construction of such instruments. So, tonight I thought I'd work on my take-home midterm. To be honest, I don't think I have EVER had a take home test before. This test, in this class about proper test construction and procedures, is the absolute worst test I have ever taken. Some are multiple choice questions, however their construction is all different. Some are a, b, c, d. Some are i, ii, iii, iv. Some are just blanks where I am supposed to put checkmarks. The questions are poorly worded, and I don't even always know what I am being asked. Don't even getting me going about how this test is formatted!!!
Many public educators cringe at the acronym NCLB--the infamous No Child Left Behind law. Personally, I don't. Do I see 100% success in my classroom? No. But I know someone is watching to make sure my kids are learning Algebra. I'm sorry, but I'm a realist and I know that the majority of my kids will never apply Algebra to their everyday lives. Yet, I still must make sure that they LEARN it well enough to pass a challenging state test. It's called accountability; it's a good thing. It pushes me to do my best as a teacher. My question is why do public universities not have such accountability? Supposedly my program is accredited, but I'm tempted to go to the accreditors myself and tell them about this ridiculous program. Grade school is more challenging!
I am taking only one graduate class this semester and by May I should have finished 24 hours of my program in school administration. I have had two classes that I felt were worthy of my time and another one in which the books were good even though the class was a joke. A joke. . . yes, that is the word that I'd have to use to describe my program. I've remained optimistic up to this semester, but. . . I've had it! Let me explain how ridiculous things have gotten in grad school.
First, I have had three classes with this one particular professor. He is an older guy who knows his three lectures that he gives each semester and who recycles his midterms and finals from class to class. This means that I have taken (and aced) a similar test SIX different times! My question is why is this guy not creating tests for each of his classes? How is taking this same test teaching me anything new? It's not, which is why I didn't take another class with him this semester.
Then there was the class where I went and looked at all of these dome gyms, listened to an architect talk about dome gyms, and besides showing up to class I did nothing else for this class. No midterm. No final exam. No research paper. No summary of anything.
This semester I am taking a class called Advanced Educational Measurements. I thought this one might be a little challenging, but by week 2 of the class I knew otherwise. Let me summarize what I've done in this class: I have read aloud a PowerPoint slide after having the professor pull a stick with my name on it out of a cup and I have made a "graphic organizer" of a portion of a chapter out of the text book (with a group of classmates) and then presented the material to the rest of the class. The book has been talking about validity and reliability of tests and assessments and proper construction of such instruments. So, tonight I thought I'd work on my take-home midterm. To be honest, I don't think I have EVER had a take home test before. This test, in this class about proper test construction and procedures, is the absolute worst test I have ever taken. Some are multiple choice questions, however their construction is all different. Some are a, b, c, d. Some are i, ii, iii, iv. Some are just blanks where I am supposed to put checkmarks. The questions are poorly worded, and I don't even always know what I am being asked. Don't even getting me going about how this test is formatted!!!
Many public educators cringe at the acronym NCLB--the infamous No Child Left Behind law. Personally, I don't. Do I see 100% success in my classroom? No. But I know someone is watching to make sure my kids are learning Algebra. I'm sorry, but I'm a realist and I know that the majority of my kids will never apply Algebra to their everyday lives. Yet, I still must make sure that they LEARN it well enough to pass a challenging state test. It's called accountability; it's a good thing. It pushes me to do my best as a teacher. My question is why do public universities not have such accountability? Supposedly my program is accredited, but I'm tempted to go to the accreditors myself and tell them about this ridiculous program. Grade school is more challenging!
posted by Becky Davis | 8:16 PM
1 Comments:
I think the worst thing here is that there is no accountability. The prof (and I use the term loosely) can pretty much do (or not do) whatever she wants, and what are they going to do?
That exam is just one tragic example of higher education falling apart because of unwillingness on the part of the schools to hire people who are actually qualified to teach. (And no, a doctorate does not immediately justify one's qualification....)
I cringe every time I look at that exam. It is so pathetically done that it almost physically hurts me. I think you should at least take it to your school's department and talk to someone abou it. The institution needs to know when an instructor is crap...and sometimes class eval's aren't enough.
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