The System, Not the Tools, Failed in Michigan | Whiteboard Advisors

Reposted from?The National Journal article from July 22, 2012

The?lawsuit?brought by the ACLU in Michigan is important for several reasons. First, policymakers and education reformers often casually refer to education as a civil right. But now the ACLU is saying that this is more than just rhetoric, that education is a very real right that all students have and action is needed when that right is violated. They make the important argument that students have the ?right to read? which provides the fundamental skills and knowledge needed to learn other subjects and succeed in college, careers, and society. Despite spending more than $16,000 per student, only 10 percent of Highland Park School students are proficient in reading. At the heart of this argument is that we haven?t asked too much from our schools, it is that we have settled for too little.

Second, the lawsuit gives a voice to parents and children for whom an entire system has failed. Parents were promised reform and change for years, but little was delivered in terms of real improvement or additional assistance or alternatives. Parent fellt?frustrated?and ignored and students were just passed on from grade to grade. Through this lawsuit, parents are saying ?Enough!? It?s time to end the cycle of lost generations because the adults can?t seem to get it right.

The temptation in this debate will be to look for a scapegoat to hold up as the reason for low performance instead of accepting this challenge to transform the system to work for the students. An example of this is the recent Jay Matthews column, which suggested that somehow technology was the cause of the school?s failure.

But that logic doesn?t hold here. First, simply putting computers into a school doesn?t improve it any more than putting computers into a government building improves government. From the descriptions in the lawsuit, Highland Park clearly wasn?t using the technology appropriately. If someone doesn?t take antibiotics in the way a doctor?prescribes?them, they won?t see the benefits. In such cases we would not say the antibiotic was ineffective. The same is true here. Not using a tool or system in the way it is intended will almost certainly not deliver the intended results.

In this school?s case, the technology system utilized was never intended to replace teaching. In fact, the software system was only supposed to be used for a small percentage of the instructional time, after which students would have customized reading assignments, engage in small group work, and have more one-on-one time with the teacher. The technology was intended to enhance and support teachers, not be a substitute for them.

What could have the results been if the technology had been used as intended??Research of the system suggests?schools can see some dramatic improvements in student performance. A number of rigorous studies have found that this technology can help students experience as much as two years growth over a year. The?U.S. Department of Education?s own evaluation of Striving Readers?found strong results and the?What Works Clearinghouse?also found positive gains.

What Michigan and many other schools need is a radical transformation where teachers are supported with instructional materials and professional development and held accountable for student results. Principals are required to create a culture of success and high expectations. And we need to allow more, not less, digital learning tools, which when used appropriately can support teaching, provide additional personalized help for students, and offer new models for delivering high quality instruction.

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Source: http://www.whiteboardadvisors.com/news/system-not-tools-failed-michigan

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