University Times

Accountability, standardized tests, outcomes — today's educational buzz words — are all well and good, said the dean of Pitt's School of Education. But they can't be viewed in the abstract devoid of social realities and evolving instructional methods.

"There is an argument that highly standardized tests really matter when people take them seriously and teachers use them to motivate students and the tests influence to some degree what teachers are going to teach — that's good stuff. It's really important," said Alan Lesgold.

"But it's also true that in the modern school environment, with the line down the hall from the nurse's office of kids waiting to get one type or other of psycho-active drug to make it through the day, a week of major high-stakes testing that's going to make the parents and the teachers and the kids nervous as hell may not demonstrate the world's best outcome."

In addition to re-thinking traditional educational methods, Lesgold said in an interview with the University Times last week that there are three broad initiatives he would like to see implemented over the next few years: building on the strong research methodology component of the school; developing a focus on the use of videotape for teacher training and educational research, and collaborating with the Pittsburgh School District to counteract the expected shortage of school administrators.

"I think there's room in the research methodology world and the testing methodology world to find ways to spread accountability measurement over the course of the school year. Psychologically, it would be a lot more productive to have a carefully selected 10 minutes of testing every week or two and build a picture over the year of how things are going for the student and the class and the school, rather than having one or two days," Lesgold said. "The mathematics of what needs to be done — humanely — can be built."

The education dean said that developing the mathematics for such a testing strategy, already within the reach of educational measurement methodologists, is an issue that merits serous attention for schools of education.

"How close are we? We already make substantial use of what we call computerized-adaptive testing," such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). "The GRE is a sequence of questions that hones in on your capabilities as efficiently as possible. It does make the assumption that during the time of the test, your abilities are not going to change," Lesgold said.

So if sequential testing is to be distributed over the course of a year, measurement must take into account that test-takers are learning during that time period, which is not an unsolvable problem, Lesgold said.

"It seems that high-stakes, high-standards testing that's humane is simply not on the public agenda right now. We need more imaginative thinking — about how we know what's going on and if schools are getting better and if our kids are getting what they deserve — that is also compatible with the psychological realities of today's school world."

Lesgold also argued for expanding the use of videotape in teaching and, especially, teacher training. He cited the Computer and Curriculum Inquiry Center, a teacher training lab that opened at the school in January, as a first step in achieving that goal. (See University Times, January 25.)

"Video allows for the stuff that's measured and studied and talked to death to be identifiable out in the real world," Lesgold said. "As a researcher, if I'm studying classroom processes by studying video and you're wondering how I can get the results I'm claiming, you can come and look at my video. It's not the same thing as looking at my field notes; we can look at the real stuff. I see it as not only important for our teaching function, but I see it as major formative force in a new generation of rigorous educational research.

"How to do the perfect multiple choice test may be very different from the mathematics of how to evaluate a public speaking performance on a videotape. But there's room for work in that area and I hope that across the appointments we make, there's at least one person and maybe more who can bring a focus to that."

The effort would increase student teaching effectiveness through analysis of videotaped classes and it would add to the portfolio of a prospective teacher looking for employment, Lesgold added.

The dean acknowledged, however, that moving in that direction would require training and hiring more staff.

Lesgold said a third priority is to partner with the Pittsburgh School District to combat the expected shortage, here and across the nation, of school administrators.

"Pittsburgh schools probably won't have a teacher shortage, but they will be facing a shortage of school leadership, including administrators, superintendents and principals. But we are working to jointly solve that problem. We are committed to finding a way to do it."

The first order of business, according to the dean, is to ensure that continuing education work done by those moving toward school administration is coordinated with the School of Education's programs and in step with state requirements to keep candidates on track.

Second, Pitt is looking into scheduling administrator training courses at Pittsburgh school sites.

Third, the education school seeks to establish an agreement that interns in the MAT program can be placed in the classrooms of some of the people who want to become school administrators, freeing them up a couple hours a day to do their training elsewhere.

"In the end, there will probably be some changes in how people can get principals' certification and superintendents' eligibility letters and advanced degrees, because some of the things we do jointly with the Pittsburgh schools will count toward the degrees we offer and the certifications and programs we have here at the school," the dean said.

"So in that sense, we're moving towards a major shift. We won't simply be sitting around trying to design the best program in the abstract, we will be saying, How can we partner with you to ensure that you can have the ability to have your best people become school leaders?"

Although Lesgold predicted that Pitt and the school district would reach some agreement this fall, he acknowledged that there were still issues to be resolved.

"It involves some faculty decisions and some district issues. It won't be easy, because faculty have an obligation to make sure that what carries credit is accomplishing the goals set by our courses and programs here, and the district wants to make it as easy as possible for good people to get this kind of training without sacrificing its own standards."

Lesgold added that a successful partnership could become a model for how a strong education school and a school district can work together to further the goals of both.

The dean said that other items on his agenda are fostering stronger collaborations with other Pitt schools; developing more centralized control and monitoring of the enrollment processes across the school's 13 units, for which a consulting firm has been hired to make recommendations; consolidating recruitment practices; forming stronger ties with alumni, and bringing in highly qualified and motivated younger faculty.

"We will be bringing in talented young people, building the next generation of the school over the next substantial number of years. It won't happen overnight. There may be some two-year searches for positions, because when you go for the top people there is stiffer competition, but we will end up with a school that is really poised for the next generation of accomplishments. That will both help the current people we have, who will be invigorated with strong colleagues, and secure us a bright future."

–Peter Hart