SB 364 and No more SLOs

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"Student learning is the ultimate measure of the success of a teacher and an instructional leader" (GADOE, 2016). Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) measure student growth over an academic year in non-tested subject areas. I asked a Curriculum Specialist how did she feel about SLOs. She said that it increased student teacher accountability for student learning across all areas. She also stated that it was just too much testing. I asked a Coordinator how did she feel about SLOs. She said that it was a good pre/post test. She also stated that is was not valid because some teachers has access to the questions. When we administered SLOs across the district 2014-2015, teachers across the county came together to unpack standards and create curriculum maps in courses that usually were "islands" in their schools. Testing was a nightmare though. Scheduling issues and data from scores being erased. Now that we no longer have SLOs, will teachers that teach non-tested subject areas go back to their "islands", sometimes teaching what they like to teach because they have always done it that way?

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 31, 2016 at 6:57 PM

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  2. UnknownMarch 31, 2016 at 7:01 PM

    This year I am currently on "island" mode. Our school created a REP math class to address remediation for struggling students. SLO's were not in place at the beginning of this journey. We have since created SLO's starting with grade 6. Yes we had access to testing questions but we were required to create more than enough questions for each standard that is going to be addressed.

    While I understand there has to be a level of accountability, I don't quite understand the rational in remediation courses. Unfortunately, I don't feel it will be a true measure of the teacher's teaching ability. In my remediation class I am working on student deficits not SLO testing material. I feel as if I am going to be forced to start teaching to a test. The beauty of agreeing to teach this class was the flexibility of my teaching being driven by students' ability levels not a required test.

    If there is a glimmer of positivity in SLO testing it would be the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers across the county who teach the same content which had not ev-ver happened in the past.

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  3. Joe GambleApril 3, 2016 at 7:35 PM

    I was a special education teacher and at first resource was supposed to close the gap between ability and grade level, and then the shift came. We had to close the gap plus teach the standard. I enjoyed doing both, but most of the times I had to go real slow to go fast before the students could get the concepts. Traveling the pace I did most times meant I was behind my my colleagues and the curriculum map.

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