May 30, 2002 3 min read

Last week the state began releasing the scores teachers received on a controversial new test that’s supposed to measure their knowledge and identify areas where they can improve their performance in the classroom. The 40-question, multiple-choice test in reading and mathematics is the brainchild of former Gov. Tom Ridge. Over the next several years the state will spend $1.5 million to test the teachers as part of the Professional Development Assistance Program. According to state Education Secretary Charles Zogby, the test results provide “for the first time an accurate yardstick of a teacher’s content knowledge and skills.”

If Zogby really believes that, he’s in the wrong line of work.

For starters, one test is hardly an accurate yardstick of anything. Second, you can’t measure the depth and breadth of the knowledge that should be expected of any reasonably competent classroom teacher with a brief multiple choice (or multiple guess) exercise.

As for gauging a teacher’s bearing and presence in the classroom, the respect he or she commands among the students and that special ability to impart knowledge to others – all of which figure in a teacher’s ability to “teach” – whoever came up with the goofy idea that you can readily quantify such abstract qualities?

This test and the thinking behind it bear the unmistakable imprint of a bunch of bureaucrats who realize education leaves much to be desired and who want to show the public they’re doing something about it, yet who have no idea what to do. A multiple-choice exam is easy to administer (although there were technical difficulties with the Internet-based test) and easy to score, and the results can be presented in a way that won’t put most people to sleep.

But what do the scores mean? Many school administrators are wondering about that and trying to figure out how the scores add anything to the teacher evaluations already being conducted at the district level. More importantly, how do you translate a percentage of correct answers on a multiple-choice test into a plan of action to improve teachers’ classroom performance?

Comments from educators about the test reported by the Associated Press ranged from “We don’t believe this test is an accurate reflection of the ability of our teachers” to “I don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing with these scores” to (perhaps the most honest and insightful) “I thought it was a waste of money and a waste of the teachers’ time.”

For the record, the scores released last week were mostly in the average range.

Knowing that, don’t you feel better about public education?