Shawn Joseph – JC Bowman

Let the Committee Decide

February 9, 2019 by JC Bowman, posted in Educators, JC Bowman, Leadership, Tennessee Education

Face it, we are all sick of government committees appointed by elected officials. I think it is always wise to seek input from all constituent groups on issues; but in the end, the people elected individuals to make tough decisions for the benefit of all. That’s why our Founders designed our government as a representative democracy. If we do not like the decisions of elected officials enough times, we get to vote those individuals out of office. Building consensus is a good strategy; abdicating to mob rule is a bad strategy. Forming a posse is also ill-advised, unless you are planning a remake of Tombstone.

Passing the buck is never the solution to tough issues. There are times when getting stakeholders from a cross-section of opinions together is helpful in understanding the issue and finding solutions to problems you may not know exists makes a lot of sense. In fact, a lack of proper knowledge of an issue results in the passage of bad policy and terrible legislation. Unfortunately, the objective seems to be for many politicians to punt the issue away for a period of time, so they can stay focused on other issues that interest them. The lack of a long-term agenda makes committee work a short-term solution. Rarely do we analyze for effectiveness and evaluate this committee process.

I had to laugh when I saw a Twitter post from Nashville Mayor David Briley when he said: “Together, we can build a focused, research-informed strategy to ensure all Nashville students, regardless of race or income, receive a great education” talking about his informal education advisors. You know, those “unelected people you didn’t vote into office.” What makes it worse, Mayor Briley hasn’t really stepped in to offer a strategy to ensure more efficient use of tax dollars in light of recent reports in local media involving Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). This does not include a recent sexual harassment settlement. Perhaps Mayor David Briley, Director of Schools Shawn Joseph, School Board Member Amy Frogge, Investigative Reporter Phil Williams and the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Justin Wilson should form a committee to ensure financial integrity in regards to MNPS’s financial operations and compliance with applicable statutes, rules and regulations, and/or its record of efficiency and effectiveness. Just a suggestion for Mayor Briley.

I tend to be agnostic when it comes to personalities or personnel. My time in the United States Marine Corps taught me the value of teamwork and working together for the collective good, with whomever is there. The objective is to educate children. Period. End of Discussion. If the Mayor of Nashville feels that the trained professionals at the Metro Nashville Public Schools and the elected School Board cannot address the issues of the lowest-performing schools in the district, why does he think the unelected “Kitchen Cabinet” he selected can do a better job? What can these nonprofit leaders and community advocates accomplish that professional educators in the MNPS system are not already doing? And why are those “leaders and advocates” not already doing it? Honestly, I think it is insulting.

Glenn Reynolds, a University of Tennessee law professor, asked the multi-million-dollar question: “How did a system designed to provide government of, by, and for the people devolve into a system in which bureaucrats unaccountable to voters (though exquisitely accountable to political players and special interests) produce masses of law that was never voted on by an elected official?” It’s time to ask David Briley that question. We have witnessed enough suggestions by experts and committees. Maybe we should start listening to parents, teachers, and taxpayers? They are a pretty formidable committee when they get a voice. And then in the immortal words of Elvis Presley it will be time for “a little less conversation, a little more action.”

—-

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the association are properly cited. For more information on this subject or any education issue please contact Professional Educators of Tennessee.

A Few More Thoughts on Testing in Tennessee…

August 14, 2018 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, Educators, JC Bowman, Leadership, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Resources, Tennessee Education, Testing

Tennessee Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen soundly responded to Metro Nashville Schools Director Shawn Joseph and Shelby County Superintendent Dorsey Hopson very bluntly in a straightforward letter yesterday. It is doubtful that either Joseph or Hopkins actually wrote the letter, which called for a “pause” in testing and convene a statewide working group of educators to look at testing. McQueen stated that neither she or Governor Bill Haslam received the letter that got widespread media coverage. She also pointed out that “both state and federal law require an annual statewide assessment.”

Some may argue that states have more flexibility, which is true to an extent. We should take a hard look at Tennessee’s ESSA plan and certainly make necessary adjustments. But we identified our own measures of progress and agreed to take certain actions in order to receive federal monies. Like that or not, it is how the game is played. When Tennessee was touting Race to the Top money, the state certainly jumped through even more hoops to get those dollars.

Dr. McQueen, who serves at the pleasure of the Governor, must follow state and federal laws. Joseph and Hopson have their own Boards of Education they must listen to on policy issues. Policy analysts TC Weber and Andy Spears have both weighed in on the subject, as has Sharon Roberts. Professional Educators of Tennessee added our opinion on the subject. All stakeholders want to get testing right. However, the emphasis on testing misses the bigger issue: student academic growth measured by flawed testing. Then the results being used in educator evaluations. This is certainly more problematic to educators than the actual tests themselves.

Once the Tennessee Department of Education gets testing corrected, then we, as a state, can refocus on discussing what should or shouldn’t be included in teacher evaluations. It is clear: flawed testing equals faulty evaluations. This is no way to measure the success or failure of our students, teachers or schools. This issue isn’t going away. Stay tuned.

Thoughts on Testing

August 14, 2018April 22, 2021 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, JC Bowman, Leadership, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Tennessee Education, Testing, Unions

tnready1

In April, 2018, Professional Educators of Tennessee raised the issue on Testing, with a hard-hitting editorial called the Trouble with Testing. Now the Superintendents of two low performing districts, Shelby County and Metro-Nashville Public Schools are eliciting media attention by challenging testing across the state. Welcome to the club.

Testing has taken a wrong turn in public education. I have always tried to keep it simple: testing is like your school picture; it is what you look like on that particular day. Kids go in to take a test. Teachers show up to make sure kids are taking their own test. Parents encourage their children to do their best. However, like Ozzie & Harriet, Leave it to Beaver, and the Lone Ranger, those days are gone.

With an infusion of $501 million federal dollars of Race to the Top money we hurried to increase standards by adopting Common Core, which was soon corrected by moving back to state standards. We then increased testing, changing both format and frequency. Tennessee also adopted new evaluation methods. The teachers’ union supported the incorporation of TVAAS data into the state’s teacher evaluations, which landed Tennessee $501 million from the federal Race to the Top grant in 2010. Professional Educators of Tennessee did NOT support the use of that data on teacher evaluations, nor did they sign a support letter on the original grant submission.

Not everything Tennessee tried was damaging, but it is not debatable that, thus far, the Age of Accountability has failed students, teachers, parents and taxpayers. Since 2012, Tennessee has had one misstep after another in testing. In 2013, our tests were not aligned to our standards. In 2014, the issue was transparency, notably quick scores and test score waivers for final semester grades were the major issue. In 2015, the new TNReady online tests had issues in the post equating formula. In 2016, we fired the vendor, Measurement, Inc. because after the online platform was botched, they were unable to get out a paper version of the test. In 2017, we were again plagued by issues due to scoring discrepancies. This year 2018, had issues related to testing, including the belief by the testing vendor, Questar, that the Questar data center was under attack from an external source, although it is never thought that any student data was compromised.

At no point since 2012 were any of the testing issues the fault of students or educators. However, for educators, they are often the ones who bear the brunt, quite unfairly, of parental anger. Students also suffer, with everything from loss of instruction time to not understanding their educational progress. When we make education decisions on the basis of unreliable or invalid test results, we place students at risk and harm educators professionally. This is especially unfair to the hardworking teachers in our state. To policymakers and stakeholders alike we must ask these questions:

Why are we relying so heavily on test scores to make important educational decisions about students, teachers or schools, especially when the process is flawed? For example, when officials thought the Questar data center was under attack from an external source, there should have been no greater priority by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to identify and prosecute those individuals guilty of this activity and confirm that no student data was compromised. Fortunately, there was no attack.
Should we question the reliability, validity, and accuracy of testing in Tennessee since 2013? Especially when shifting between online to paper tests? Note: Reliability relates to the accuracy of their data. Reliability problems in education often arise when researchers overstate the importance of data drawn from too small or too restricted a sample. Validity refers to the essential truthfulness of a piece of data. By asserting validity, do the data actually measure or reflect what is claimed?

In Tennessee we appreciate straight talk and candor. We unquestionably detest hypocrisy. We understand mistakes are made by individuals, by companies and even by our government. We are not pointing fingers, just stating a fact. Clearly there is a problem with testing in Tennessee. It isn’t our students or our educators. It is a flawed testing system.

Shawn Joseph and Dorsey Hopkins timed the announcement of their joint press release well. A sitting group of mostly outgoing legislators were at the Capitol at the time to discuss education. It is also political season. Their joint letter will momentarily take the attention away from their own issues. However, we welcome the discussion. Unfortunately, simply offering the much-ballyhooed solution of another “blue ribbon” panel to discuss the testing issue is a mere diversion. For teachers, thank Race to the Top which was supported by the previous Superintendents of Shelby County and Metro-Nashville Public Schools and the teachers’ union. I wish both men had offered a solution. We will help you out- Eliminate TVAAS data from teacher evaluations. That would an enormous leap forward.

Dad Gone Wild

May 18, 2018 by JC Bowman, posted in Advocacy, Educators, JC Bowman, Leadership, Parents, Professional Educators of Tennessee, Reading, Students, Tennessee Education

If you are not a regular reader of the education blog Dad Gone Wild written by TC Weber, add it to your list. He will make you laugh, he will make you mad, and he will make you cry…sometimes in the same article. His latest column, So Here We Are, goes where few writers dare to go by pointing out: “Nashville has long been over due for a conversation on race and how it plays out in our public institutions.” Weber is right.

In the growing debate over Metro Schools Superintendent Shawn Joseph, Mr. Weber asks the million-dollar question: How much of the criticism directed toward the Director of Schools is rooted in the color of his skin as opposed to his performance? Answer that question than proceed to the debate. If you are judging him because of the color of his skin, you need to exercise your constitutional right and remain silent. If it is based on performance, then take Weber’s advice and “evaluate with the same rigor we demand of others.”

At times the Dad Gone Wild columns go on for too long, but some of it is so brilliant one wonders if the education students at Lipscomb, Trevecca, Belmont, or Vanderbilt shouldn’t be required to read his columns prior to graduating. It is where reality and policy intersect, along with a healthy dose of investigative journalism. A local newspaper should certainly pick up Dad Gone Wild or Mr. Weber should expand his reach beyond Music City and go statewide or national.

Weber states that he wants to “continually push the conversation forward and to expand my boundaries and knowledge base.” He adds, “I personally don’t believe race is an issue that we can ignore or a conversation we can shy away from. Too many of our important decisions, especially in education, are rooted in race. Funding, programing, and attendance are just some of the areas where race influences our decisions.” He is correct. And we all have “skin” in that game. Then he states: “my goal is to support policy that is best for kids, families, and teachers.” That point is lost on far too many people, from the bureaucrat to the politician.

Weber emphasizes that “this conversation suffers, as Nashville is currently suffering, from a lack of leadership.” He believes there “is currently a leadership vacuum in Nashville that starts at the mayoral level and descends downward.” It would be hard to disagree with this statement, although I might suggest that the grassroots cannot be afraid to lead, and, if needed, push the so called “leaders” out of the way.

I have no problem with the Superintendent rapping along with a song, no matter how vulgar it may be or not be. That’s his prerogative. He will ultimately answer to the community if he crosses the professional line. My opinion of Shawn Joseph will be based strictly on his performance, or lack thereof. My question is: How do you think he is doing?

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.