Three days of testing in March or April are growth opportunities, not definitions, writes Scott Murphy. (Getty Images file photo)
By Scott Murphy
Guest Commentary
Sometimes we are simply woeful. We all have our days. Business professionals, Olympians, teachers and kids, you and me.
Consider the Denver Broncos just a few weeks ago. In a moment that called for their best game, they played their worst. For any viewer who had not watched the Broncos all season, he would infer that this team was untalented, unskilled, poorly coached and simply unworthy. Only one conclusion could be drawn from that Sunday debacle: This team was bad.
But I had watched the Broncos all year and had checked the stats. This team was good, really good. This team had one of the greatest offensive seasons in the history of the game and has players that will one day be in the Hall of Fame.
For students, teachers and schools, our state tests are coming soon and we’ll have our opportunity to show our best or possibly our worst. We’ve learned again and again and (thank you, Broncos) again, that talent, skill, preparation and excellent coaching are not guarantees of seeing success, especially if one looks only through a narrow lens. The monocular view limits our understanding of a complete and more compelling picture. It negates many great days in lieu of possibly one of “those” days.
Though there is value in putting ourselves in singularly challenging events, there is also great risk in extrapolating the full value of the results. Even talented, well-prepared, oft-successful performers can have horrible days. It is simply the condition of being human. And for our students, none of whom are yet professional and are still learning the game, they too are subject to being human. They are fallible at any given time, capable of great triumphs alongside embarrassing collapses. They are more than a moment.
The concern is not that we might have some 9-year-old student fumble a math problem or drop the ball on a written response. The concern is when that gaffe happens, and it will happen, we begin to play out the value of that child, that teacher, that school and that community. We ignore the totality and attend only to that moment. We make three days in spring disproportionate to the whole of the year. We construct websites and apply labels. We cross tracks and move schools. We craft policy and draft legislation. We judge and we buy and we hire and we pay. But do we learn?
Yes, we do. The lessons are many.
For school leaders: Be bigger than the test, much bigger. Always think whole school, whole year, whole child. Shape communities of learners and garner data that allows you to be test immune. Three days in March or April are growth opportunities, not definitions.
For teachers: Do not test prep. Child prep. Coach, mentor, facilitate and teach. Provide every opportunity for test success, but shape the intellect, spirit and community of children such that they can be great on many days, not just one.
For parents: Know your kids, your schools, your teachers. Learn your part of the partnership. Know the difference between a test and a portfolio, a good day from bad, growth from need. You are their greatest teacher.
For legislators: Know your limitations. Shift ownership and responsibilities to the leaders of schools and communities. Leverage policy and legislation to set direction and resource great practices. Give educators the best chance to succeed daily and look at many measurements often.
For all of us: Be fans! Be fans of education and fans of learning. Be fans of your community and its teachers. Be fans of the kids that go to your local schools each day. And like all good fans, know that the measure of our team is never a single moment in time, but the entirety of our work, the good, the great and, yes, sometimes even the woeful.
Scott Murphy lives in Lakewood.
