Test performance - ranks the teachers

There is a saying “Today you lead the school and tomorrow your students will lead the world”. This quote very well states the importance of teachers and education leaders in a student’s life. But, nowadays a teacher or an educational leader’s success is measured only by his/her student’s test performance. It seems education policymakers and people in general have chosen an easy way out to measure an educator’s impact.

Scott Taylor, Superintendent of the K-12 Highland Park School District in New Jersey, expresses his opinion on the matter. In his blog, he says he is struggling to reconcile his core belief that standardized test scores are not the proper way to judge a school’s or a teacher’s success with the way society looks at him as an educational leader. He clarifies that leaders do work hard to help educators and supervisors in achieving best scores on the assessments. Beyond this leaders also contribute in various ways to improve other aspects of an educational institution.

According to Scott Taylor, Educational Leadership is not a “black and white” enterprise- it is a craft that requires an individual to see the world in myriad “colors” that calls for all kinds of creative solutions to problems and different approaches to relating to people with divergent personalities and attitudes. He believes that an education leader’s success should be measured by his/her ability to help the community they serve grow socially, emotionally, and academically and not only by their capability to get their students to perform well on tests.

What Scott says is exactly right, and the education board should take proper measures in rating a teacher. Teachers not only take the responsibility of guiding children in their academic growth but also in social their well-being.

Source: http://successfulschools.blogspot.in/2015/06/test-performance-does-not-educational.html