All Children Should be Above Average
My Learning Partners is located in Minnesota, the home of the fictional community of Lake Wobegon found weekly on Public Radio. This is the community where the women are all strong, the men are all handsome and the children above average. Outside of Lake Wobegon, in reality, approximately one half of all children are below average, while the other half are above average. The differences and diversity among children is important and the differences are large. Achievement tests demonstrate just how great the differences are. Achievement scores among higher performing second and third graders are actually greater than the achievement scores of lower achieving twelfth graders. This overlap of scores is not a new phenomenon, it simply describes the variability among individuals. It is very important to keep these differences in mind when setting standards for students.
Nearly everyone would like to see the academic performance of students rise. Arbitrary accountability standards have been created and championed by various groups. When standards are based on the average student, I believe they are inappropriate because of the diversity among students. If standards are based upon the abilities of lower achieving students then those standards can be easily passed by younger students and I am not ready to graduate bright third graders. Higher standards, on the other hand, may truly be out of the reach of a proportion of students. Standards should be set for each individual student because each student has unique needs.
My Learning Partners is very concerned with accountability standards so we set individual standards. There are defined learning growth rates where students thrive. If a student has a great deal of aptitude and his peer has much less aptitude obviously the student with the greater aptitude will be capable of learning the most. They both however, thrive when on the same growth rate. If the growth rate is too steep they will both complain because the material is too simple. Additionally, with material too simple there will not be enough repetition for long term recall. If the growth rate is too flat they will both complain because the material is too difficult. When students are improving within specific growth rates, then each will be able to maintain interest and a level of motivation. The student with the greater aptitude will need to tackle more material while the student with less aptitude attempts less. When the material is matched to student's growth rate then the learning process is much more enjoyable for each student.
My Learning Partners is not particularly interested in standards that are group based. Unless standards are designed for each student and based upon individual differences they appear to be of little value. Knowing how an individual or group is performing may be interesting but it is generally not helpful for an individual student. By focusing on each student’s daily growth and then making interventions to support that growth is true accountability. It also places the responsibility on the educational system and not on the student.