ONE MORE REALLY LONG ARTICLE ABOUT PROFICIENCIES AND METRICS

BOE Members and Residents have been discussing the issue of proficiencies for some time now, and the same is true for metrics.

Proficiencies were part of the discussion during last year’s election season. They came up again in the public debate surrounding the Budget earlier this year, and then again three months ago during a BOE meeting as a result of a resident’s comment – the conversation about proficiencies, metrics, and measurement is not new and all three aren’t necessarily discussed as a single package.

BOE Members, Candidates and members of the public are not in charge of providing this information and are there to ask the questions.  In that respect, we have all been doing our job.  And everyone who has added their voice to the public discussion deserves credit regardless of where they stand on this issue or what mistakes we believe they may have made in taking the risk to advance this discussion. Every voice is a call to action, evidence that we must stop fighting the inevitable.

Answering these questions is a function of the administration – so let’s rely on them to give us their understanding so we can all discuss this from the same place. Let’s make sure the answer we receive includes a comprehensive walkthrough of the data, the plan, and the targets – not what the state defines but what we can expect based on projections the District has established.  

Why, with all this discussion about proficiencies and test scores this year at meetings and on social media, has the District not published an official document providing all of this to residents? Especially given the ballooning Administrative additions we’ve noticed over the past three years?  With these new resources, this type of reporting should be more achievable than ever.

Maybe a document does exist somewhere. If it does, why not just give that out to the community and say, “here-we had this, and this might help everyone understand where we are a little better”. If it doesn’t include the data or targets being discussed – connect the dots for us.  

I emailed the the District a day or two ago in connection to proficiencies and to their credit they responded – but it wasn’t with a coherent document prepared with data explaining all this. It ended with a request from me for a written walkthrough which I hope to receive.

But let me get to the real points of this massive article I’m writing that you’ve probably stopped reading by now.

This discussion is not just about one metric that, by all accounts, we are not meeting. 

We should be aware that outside of Algebra I; Geometry, Science and Algebra 2 also appear low, but there does not appear to be any real information in the dribs and drabs that I’ve seen that help the community make sense of it.

Now maybe I’m wrong on this. Maybe there is someone out there ready to pounce on this article with a new graph, table or insight they got in an email from someone in the District 2 hours after this article comes out……. like a ninja.

I don’t care – that’s not on me and this isn’t about winning Facebook. I shouldn’t need to do dissertation level work, be a trained archeologist and have the District staff directory memorized to know where we are at with Geometry and why the numbers the State is putting out are either wrong or deceiving. It should be out there already.

But assuming I am right and we have bigger problems than just Algebra I, then we are essentially having an incomplete discussion and on only 25% of the issue – centering around degrees of “how much haven’t we met the goal by” on one of four items versus the more meaningful question of why there is still so much confusion on this and why we aren’t having dedicated discussions on this in BOE meetings instead of frantically approving new policies despite there appearing to be no real need.

Having interim targets or long term objective in our community plan can be very valuable:

(1) Having targets present in our planning documents and as part of the ongoing conversations solidifies them as priorities – goals and objectives people are unaware of are of no use at all. One of the main reasons goals are established is to give individuals and teams direction and reinforcement of that outcome. Could you imagine being evaluated on goals you weren’t aware of or were never really discussed with you at your job?  

(2) Having goals present can lead to discussions about and the development of interim internal measures that mirror the state targets. These can allow us to compare ourselves to other Districts that keep track of and report on their progress. It can allow us to reach out to these districts and discuss differences in approach that may explain differences in outcomes from a similar basis more frequently in real time.

(3) Having the information front and center allows the public and the District to ask more relevant questions because as it becomes a more significant part of the culture people pay attention more to the decisions made with those goals in mind -there is clarity on what is important when there are competing priorities.

(4) It reminds the BOE that while State targets are important, they are ultimately accountable to our community. Berkeley Heights may feel the state targets are too low. Maybe the majority of people in Berkeley Heights feel 80% on Algebra I is simply unacceptable for a District with our resources and applies public pressure on the District to aim higher.

It’s not as simple as saying that a copy and paste of state goals would make everyone happy – but that starting point alone could potentially bring a lot of value.

Think about this. We constantly talk about how our sports teams are doing – and we should. We celebrate wins, mourn losses, we review scores, we follow stats on an individual level even – so far as to report them on the local news EVERY WEEK. As we get more excited about our teams, we post pictures and talk about things like getting new lights for fields (I think we have petition going around with three million signatures)- we are motivated to invest in them more because we have bought into their success. Shouldn’t we at least do a fraction of that when it comes to Math and Science?

And while more years to accomplish the state targets than many parents thought we had is good, what is the plan for that time?  

More time by itself doesn’t ensure a better outcome. Do you, as a parent, have a good command of what the District is doing in that time? The evidence connected to that plan? What can we reasonably expect concerning measurable gain (not something state targets can answer)? Does the District have internal mechanisms to measure progress? 

Maybe it exists on page 3,456 in State Manual XYZ 3.42 Version 8,000 – and if it does and you bring it up on social media get ready for someone who just found it a few hours ago to pull it out and tell you how misinformed you are. That’s how these discussions go down in Berkeley Heights.

But…..this discussion is more than about proficiencies. It’s about a culture change.

Great things often happen when passionate discussions occur in the public sphere. This public debate could be an opportunity for the District to improve a long-standing issue. There appear to be no measurable targets in our strategic plan. While the rest of the world – including non-profits, health care and academic institutions have embraced the value of measurement, we are stuck in a debate with our District that was occurring in my field 25 years ago and has long been settled.

Let’s not miss this chance. Let’s embrace what this conversation calls for: more consistent measurement, accountability to targets in our documents, improved message coherency, and ongoing discussions focused on solutions connected to evidence. Not just on proficiencies but on everything that matters.

We should be grateful to anyone in the community who is willing to step up and put their thoughts out there on this. They are the reason this conversation is now in the spotlight.

So thank you Sai, Natasha and Dipti for taking a risk- thanks for doing the politically inconvenient thing while running for office to bring this forward in a way it wasn’t before.

I also appreciate all the Residents who have put themselves out there in meetings, on BHCW and in other forums and outlets, regardless of what side you are on. Finally having this issue become a public debate in this town is a win – and all sides being engaged means change is closer.

One last point for the one person who is still reading this simply because they are stuck in an elevator and trying to distract away from their anxiety. I’m sorry this article is the only thing you have as a comfort but it is the best I can do for you right now.

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