My
estimable teacher-blogger colleague, Ms. Bluebird, is sputtering about  the parent-accessible online grading system in
her district. She bemoans the fact that parents aren't tracking their children's assignments and grades, even though it's now become totally
convenient to (as the kiddies say) creep on their progeny. Evidently, this is
an issue of deep concern to lots of teachers, as Ms. B's first 13 commenters
enthusiastically jump on the "parents just don't care" bandwagon.

Ms.
Bluebird totally rocks--but on this issue, I disagree. When it comes to online
gradebooks, I believe what's happening here is a misguided faith in the magic of
technology to solve problems (even things we didn't realize were problems beforehand).
If parents weren't allowed to peek into teachers' gradebooks twenty years, what
makes us think they're interested now? And furthermore--is it even a good idea
to nurture grade-stalking in parents?

Points
to consider:

•  Expecting
  parents to track their children's grades--and do something about low grades or missing assignments--shifts
  responsibility for learning and monitoring the grade to parents. And guess
  what? It's the student's job to do that, not Mommy's.

• When
  parents are suddenly hawking their gradebooks, teachers feel compelled to put
  lots of numbers in the book, proving that they're organized and soldiering
  away, assigning lots of homework and giving lots of grades. My principal sent
  us a memo suggesting that we add at least one new grade per week, it being
  worrisome when parents see that several days have gone by with no grading.

• Some
  of those grades represent formative assessment: constructive feedback to
  students in the process of learning to master a concept or skill. Formative
  assessment is supposed to be non-punitive--information that helps a student
  improve. If curriculum is appropriate--in the sweet spot where it challenges,
  but builds on prior learning--then formative assessment will show lots of room
  for growth. Try explaining that to one panicked parent at a time

• Not
  everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be
  counted. (Einstein said that, not me.) An online gradebook converts all
  assessment data to numbers. Because it's...digital. Sometimes, kids need
  coaching or commentary, not a comparative percentage. Sometimes, it's OK to
  paint a pumpkin, just to see how it turns out. You don't have to grade
  everything, to make it real or valuable.

I
find my district's online grading program so inflexible as to be nearly
useless. I collected lots of valid assessment data on my students that could
not be represented in the gradebook program (the program routinely converted a memorized
D-flat major scale into 60%). I never checked on my son's grades, either, although
it would have been extremely easy to do so--and, trust me, I am a caring
parent, with a deep commitment to his education. I got his report card, and I
went to parent-teacher conferences. And that--really--was enough.

Don’t you love it when policymakers and others “discover” something that teachers have been fighting or begging for; then turn to the cameras and say: “Wow! This could revolutionize education! Why aren’t more teachers doing this?”  Sigh.

That’s how I felt as I watched testimony from the June 16 hearing before the House Education and Labor Committee on “How Innovative Educational Technologies Can Boost Student Learning and Teacher Effectiveness.” 

Aneesh Chopra, White House Chief Technology Officer, gushed over the many possibilities for technology use in the classrooms as he highlighted some “on the ground” examples, including an e-book platform for collaborative writing and sharing of texts in physics.

College sophomore, Abel Real, from North Carolina shared his inspiring story of how a teacher and a school district commited to integrated technology use motivated and enabled him to successfully complete his education. He also explains how it has helped other high-needs, at-risk students.

I wonder, whether the House Committee and others listening to him realize how much technology is and has already been used in public education around the country, often by teachers having to circumvent access and resource issues?  Hopefully, this hearing suggests that the  White House and Congressional initiatives will begin with a broad search of what is already successfully being done; and engaging tech-experienced educators and students in helping plan for what could be.

I also wonder whether those in attendance at the hearing caught in Mr. Real’s remarks the importance not only of the technology, but of how it was used by the educators as an integral part of the overall teaching/learning experience, not as a sideshow. Chopra’s remarks implied this understanding; any federal actions on this issue need to keep that integration as a core principle.

The interest of the Executive and Legislative branches in promoting the use of technology in education is admirable. But past administrations have paid lip service to this, too. Although I’ll save the real rejoicing for a systematic effort to unchain teachers from antiquated policies and provide real resources to make innovative use of technology in education a reality for all our children, it’s a good start.

My ever-observant husband, who heads our community-based youth organization, has been complaining lately at how little benefit the students in our local schools get from the Internet.

Although schools in the Mississippi Delta region were among the first in the state to get wired for Internet access (long before many of the homes and businesses here--some of which are still dependent on dial-up), the use of web resources in many of our classrooms is pathetically limited.

He pointed to several elementary schools in which the only time students use the Internet is to logon to web-based remediation programs designed to help them prepare for the state tests. This is generally done during the students' once or twice weekly visit to the school's computer lab. Computers in the classrooms are used primarily by the teachers for various administrative tasks, or for individual remediation work with students on programs such as Accelerated Reader. I checked with some of the local teachers who confirmed that doing very much that's creative or innovative with students using Web-based tools is logistically difficult, if not plain impossible, due to restrictions on use and requirements to devote class time solely to prefabricated test preparation. The problem is also compounded by the lack of upgraded hardware since most of the computers in our schools were purchased years ago with one-time grant money.

My husband noted, "Our [Delta] kids need exposure; they need to see what the rest of the world is like outside these small towns. What about all the other wonderful stuff on the Internet like National Geographic and museums, and all that?"  Increasing student and teacher access to web resources and more efficient use of the web in classrooms has proven to be a successful strategy for enriching student learning in many settings. But the myth persists that students in high-need areas are best served by more mind-numbing remediation. As I wrote earlier, there are many who think all poor and minority children need are more drills and discipline.

Meanwhile, President Obama created a stir by giving Queen Elizabeth an iPod. During his international visit, it was apparent that people, especially youth around the world, are highly informed about what is happening in this country, as well as globally. How ironic it is that poor children here in the Delta are still being kept in a state of intellectual deprivation partly due to misguided efforts to raise their academic performance. The good news is this is a problem that can be corrected, if we encourage teachers and administrators to shift focus from knee-jerk test preparation to quality teaching and learning for the 21st century.

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