I was a 7th grade Language Arts teacher for Baltimore City in 2007 and 2008 and agree with the above analysis. My students all reported a higher comfort level with this year's assessment, and in looking at it, I noticed that it was more in allignment with the Benchmark Tests which had been administered throughout the year. The content was about the same regarding difficulty, but my students felt better prepared. I also agree strongly with the comments about highly-qualified teachers making huge impacts on the learning process. I completed Baltimore's Teacher Residency Program (BCTR) and went through it as a mid-life career changer with an English degree and a desire to work with high needs students. I applaud the City and Dr. Alonso for insisting that we ask the best from our students AND our teachers. If not for the fact that I have recently moved away from the area, I would be excited and delighted to go right back into that 7th grade classroom this year and see what happens for 2009!! B. Decker

There is some thinking that the move for "qualified" (by paper) teachers is a move to bring more teachers here from out of the country. Teachers who have difficulty with the language and culture, but who are able to use the job if even briefly to support families back home.
Students in the city have passed the MSA with the help of some teachers who have recently been given the "pink slip" by North Avenue. These teachers possess the wide range of skills that made them a good teacher.

emjay - By your own argument, the "pink slip" makes sense. If you want to take the exclusive angle you're proposing then I'd reframe it: as more "qualified" teachers from out-of-country have entered the BCPSS to teach, test scores have risen (with the cumulative effect seen in this year's results). Second, as the BCPSS has increasingly worked to dispose of "unqualified" teachers, test scores have risen (with the cumulative effect seen in this year's results). Therefore, adding out-of-country "qualified" teachers and removing "unqualified" teachers leads to higher student test scores.

NB: I don't agree with this logic, but it's the argument that inherently you're asserting. My point - I wouldn't place too much emphasis on one factor over another without a data-driven approach because mere hunches will lead often to unfortunate logical conclusions.

I just re-read my last post. It's sounds condescending. That wasn't my intention at all - sorry about that. I'm just noting that I'd prefer to make hiring decisions on objective criteria rather than subjective beliefs. I honestly don't care if it's one way or another, I just want the City to hire the teachers that have documented results with students on a cumulative level. I'm sure there are outliers on either side, but it's defaulting to the "highest likelihood of success" that I'm most worried about.

I suspected that the celebration over higher test scores was premature. I'm always wary of statistics because I know there are often many variables that need to be considered. I'm sure we all want to see improved student achievement, but we need to carefully consider all factors before we jump to conclusions. Only then can we make needed adjustments to make sure our students succeed.

As a teacher (in a non-tested area) these articles are very demeaning. When scores go down it is because of poor teaching. Now, that scores go up it is because of the test.

The reality is most of the score is about the test taker and their attitude and ability on test day. But don't teachers deserve some credit.

This article sounds very similar to many of Nancy Grasmick's press conferences. When scores go up it's because of her initiatives and when they go down it's those unqualified teachers.

Don't let these columnist get to you. I am a resident of Baltimore. It has been a long time since I've been in high-school. But let me say, I am proud of the results, and these quality teachers should be as well.

I credit my career to the teachers I had in college & high-school. - not to mention, God, my parents and a little hardwork. ;)

Be proud! And show them what you've got!

Look, the point is not to bash teachers, it's to explain a blip when we should all be expecting a ramp. The test was changed in a way that doesn't make it easier, but makes it fairer. This means that next year, if we continue to see an upward trend, but not such a big jump, we should be happy and say we've all done a good job. A little less hyper-sensitivity and a little more thoughtful discussion sound good to me.

The result though is poor teacher morale. Look at the city as a test case. We hear about teachers being abused, we hear about administrators being let go. Let's let our teachers celebrate a little.

So to my parent friend above, apply the same logic to your parenting and we'll agree. Until then, say thanks to your kids teachers.

"It has been my experience that when black and Latino children demonstrate great gains, people look to explanations other than good, hard work to explain that performance. It's what I experienced in New York. We know why that happens."

So this is what we have come to. We must uncritically celebrate the "gains" of black Americans even if they are a sham mounted by the white power structure to cover its continuing failure to give black kids the education that is rightfully theirs. I can hear WEB DuBois crying in his grave.

Actually, I have said whoo-hoo about these results on the original post about them. Twice I believe. I think that everyone involved should feel proud that things are moving in the right direction in the BCPSS.

I also think understanding the results helps in keeping up the trend. Big jumps in scores (as opposed to linear improvements) make people nervous. It's hard to imagine keeping up jumps in scores, so we need to understand what happened so as not to look at more gradual improvements next year as a failure.

This is not about taking any glory away from teachers or students or administrators. It is about understanding. If an attempt at analysis leads to poor moral and is forbidden, then it is unlikely that we will be able to keep being effective as far as improvements in MSA results go.

Can we now thank the parents who are trying more and more to be a part of what is going on in their childs school, to start the communication and understanding of what is expected of their children, As it has been stated by others so much--It Begins at Home

Emjay -

"There is some thinking that the move for "qualified" (by paper) teachers is a move to bring more teachers here from out of the country. Teachers who have difficulty with the language and culture, but who are able to use the job if even briefly to support families back home."

Yes, this is a tad condescending and I'm glad you qualified your post later on.

I am one of those foreign teachers, and many if not most of us are perfectly understandable to our students, once they get used to our accents.

Speaking for myself (but I know this is true of others too) I have tried to immerse myself in African-American culture to the extent that I know many aspects of it not even many African-American teachers are familiar about. It is a long and tedious process, this acculturation, but I realize that it is necessary for me to be an effective teacher in Baltimore. How could I even presume to teach here if I do not know the culture of my students?

To imply that our motive for coming to Baltimore is solely monetary is highly insulting. I will not deny that the pay is relatively good compared to our home countries. However many of us were living comfortably back home, may I add without the hassle of having difficult students. Some came for additional training, some to escape political harassment, and some came because of a sense of adventure. I will not even presume to uncover whatever motivations my fellow teachers in the foreign cohort may have had in coming to Baltimore.

FYI a majority of us have had satisfactory or even proficient ratings, and the ones who were not up to par have also been given the pink slip. It is not as if we were given beds of roses here. We had to lump it just like everyone else. Frankly we have to work in conditions under more critical glare, from students to fellow teachers to administrators.

To lump us all into one category smacks of the kind of mental shorthand I thought was already gone in the US, but which we are still reminded of, day after day after day.

I apologize for the long rant, but I am just a little bit tired of being, how shall I say it in your idiom, the fall guy.

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