Excellent Comment on BCTF, Testing, Fraser Institute et al

David,

You probably have more background on the role that the Fraser Institute has played in this ongoing dispute, but my quick look at their website today was informative. I'd be interested to know what their relationship is with the BC government and how it is that the FI gets the results of the provincial testing and is able to publish those results with the cooperation of the local press? Surefire way to get those educators riled up. Made me wonder if the FI has ever met with the BCTF to discuss their concerns about educational standards?

Of course there's nothing wrong with evaluating learning in all its forms and it happens in schools all the time. My wife and I happen to be raising a granddaughter who is in elementary school. My observation is that kids are learning more now than our generation ever did. And they are being evaluated frequently enough that we are aware of her strengths and weaknesses. And by taking the opportunity to chat with her teachers as we have, we are able to work cooperatively on improvements in her performance. I doubt that our experience is that unusual. Unless mutual respect is as dead as the proverbial dodo bird.

I'm a retired educator but my unsolicited advice to the teaching profession is to avoid even the appearance of a bunker mentality around evaluation and learning outcomes. This will not satisfy your "customers". My apologies if framing it that way is distasteful to any educators, but that orientation would be one that many parents would understand and appreciate.

Most working parents are subjected to increasing stresses in the workplace and it's a parental duty and obligation to help prepare children for an increasingly stressful world. Do educators need to develop more effective ways of explaining, and if need be improving, their instructional and evaluative methods? If the teachers are right that the current approach isn't "broke", then does it at least need "fixing"? Insisting on maintaining the status quo may have serious consequences.

In my opinion, the Fraser Institute's interest in publicizing test results may be the tip of an iceberg called promoting charter schools, a conclusion that's hard not to arrive at after reading the summary of their "independent" research reports on their website. The FI is quite forthright in acknowledging their "market economics" orientation. I would have thought that recent economic events would have made us a tad more cautious about jumping on that bandwagon again, particularly when educational reforms may be the agenda. Private or charter schools may fulfill a need for some families, but if they were to be expanded at the expense of the public school system, be careful what you wish for as most Grannies used to say.

Finally, if publishing educational test results is so benign, let's go the whole nine yards and evaluate the medical profession next. Got to do something about spiralling health costs, don't we? Let's get our friendly government to authorize patient evaluations of family doctors and publish the results in the Sun. Where's the possible harm in that?

DC