Teachers or Trainers

In replying to an article written by Diana Senechal (There is No Such Thing As Teaching), Diane Ravitch offers a sharp rebuke for those who believe tests are the best or the only way to measure what a student has learned.

“Diana Senechal is absolutely right. The economists, statisticans, and number-crunchers with MBA degrees are trying to turn education into a data-driven activity, where we can keep score and find out who "won." But that’s not education! As Senechal points out, good teachers have mastery and love of whatever they teach, and the data will not reflect that. In fact, the data will capture only the narrowest aspects of schooling (not education), which is whether students get higher scores on standardized tests of basic skills. Children can be trained to get the right answer, like parrots or seals, but the higher scores are not a measure of a good education or a good teacher.”