Why many teachers say, "BEST is the worst!"

[emilya321cprocks]

I'm a student and want to say something, if they say they're the "BEST" and not the BEST, Why is it called it? Nothing is the "BEST/perfect." But u can be Amazing.

[alexp9999]

former student here. few elem-secondary students believed the difference between "their", "they're", and "there" would affect their future income, and so cared little for learning nuances. instead focused on some great future (which is positive, to be fair), many seemed ignorant to the fact that their most basic, root, keystone skills had never been developed...

everyone must learn communication skills, imo. regardless of occupation, we gotta communicate better, understand better =D

[slanker786]

us teachers must be dumb as fuck because they have made a dumb as fuck nation! fat bastard zionist scum bagel eating nation!

[kjburger12]

I don't think its the teacher's that made a dumb nation rather the tests did. I am talking about the MEAP becuase if you look at most college professor are complaining students don't have college level writtings this is becuse we are more focus on the multiable test student have to take rather then teaching what needs to be taught.

[gerulm1]

Sounds like TPA's in California

[notonmypage]

I'd like to see some students responding on YouTube to this video. It's hard to believe anything too professionally produced. ... Why not pay students to come and show the teachers how they have been taught well and how they have been taught badly?

[TheLazyScorpio]

yeah i'm a student, and well I'm an observing type, I watch everything gain as much information as i can, and connect links to why something is the way it is. And wht i've noticed is that students are the way they are because through the grades students have been taught slow and carfully, then the get to a grade where teacher's are expecting them to be quick learners (new teacher's expect this), so they'll be trying to get through a lesson in a day

[TheLazyScorpio]

while there are other teachers(teacher's that have been teaching for a while) who expect them to be slow learners, which in that case they end up teaching so slow that it's offensive to the smart students who then decide that since it's so slow that they can easily pick it up at the last 18 weeks. and while the smart students r sitting around teacher's think that they are psycologists and assume that there is a problem at home. Then they keep requesting P.T.C.s

[TheLazyScorpio]

which then cause students do do worse because they are trying to get the teacher fired casuse the teacher's themselves are causing more problems for the students (not to be conceded but the smart students is where i am) meanwhile the average students are causing trouble n class because the teacher is either teaching too slow or too fast, then the average students will get A's Smart student's get between C-F (depending on how their parent's react will differ the lowest grades they can get)

[TheLazyScorpio]

In the end I have concluded that there is no constant teaching rate, and no possible way of professionalising in child studies, I only know this because i'm in that generation. the most u can learn about children is for the 1 generation u study, I tend to notice that younger children once past 4th grade stop mimcing what they see and come up with their own way. I'm one of the few who planned for the future and is now trying to mend the education that is going to be left after my graduation.

[TinyTeacher317]

I am currently doing my BEST and EVEN MY MENTOR agrees that I have to change my teaching to meet the expectations of the BEST! Of course there within lies the problem...how are they going to evaluate us? How about they DO spend the money on training a mentor how to approve teachers for the future and my mentor give the state a green thumbs up on my ACTUAL teaching that goes with the curriculum of MY SCHOOL!

[ermgotti]

I am currently doing my BEST portfolio and it is every bit as much of a nightmare as I had previously heard about. Very simply put, it is a portfolio that gives me a meaningless number based on my writing, not my teaching.

[staceywilkins65]

The process is a nightmare from beginning to end. The excessive amount of work detracts from teaching during the second-year. It is horrible. Hopefully, this forum will lead to major changes to this flawed method of assessment.

[BCROSDALE]

The best portfolio was a total nightmare. It has been behind me for two years and the thought of it still makes me sick and brings back awful memories of sleepless nights and fear.

[uconnsket]

1) Even if BEST is a test of your writing ability, do you want your child to have a teacher that cannot effectively communicate?

2) Perhaps those teachers who feel that they need to "teach to the Best" should examine their own teaching practices; it doesn't sound like they are aligned with current research.

3) I love the thought that teachers complain when they are given the same high stakes assessment that they give their own students. Teachers are such hypocrites sometimes.

[TinyTeacher317]

Either you have never done a BEST portfolio and/or you ARE NOT A TEACHER!!!I believe only someone that is NOT a teacher would say what you just said...especially your second point....and your third...I have never given my 4th graders a 75+page assignment and such a "high stakes assessment."

[tmorgan6737]

I received a score of 3 on my BEST, and I can tell you that you are DEAD WRONG, & that your ignorance only proves why ONLY teachers should have the right to judge other teachers! As for writing ability, the WORST teacher in my school received a score of 4. WHY? Because he knows how to bull----! NOT BECAUSE HE CAN TEACH! I got a 3 because I taught to the BEST, and it ruined the entire remainder of my semester with those students.

[trayums]

Frankly, I complain about high stakes testing because it is UNFAIR and not a good assessment of student learning and smarts. The same is true of BEST. Have you done this program? It is disheartening as a teacher to have to go through it. Yes, teachers need to be able to effectively communicate and if they aren't able to do so, their administrator should be required to step in and HELP. The state should spend their money on supporting new teacher not stressing them out to this extent.

[pomegranate129]

This testimony is poorly balanced. E-mails were sent to teachers who received low scores on the portfolio, asking them to share their opinions. I do not know of anyone who received a "4" who was invited to this meeting. Teachers receive a handbook with clear directions and rubrics for portfolio scoring. BEST may not be perfect, but it's not as bad as people make it sound.

[TinyTeacher317]

That is incorrect and you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. I received an e-mail and a survey, as did SEVERAL new teachers. I haven't even finished my BEST yet!

[tmorgan6737]

If that's the case, then explain why I received an email, and 2 written letters asking me to comment on my BEST experience, and an invitation to attend the hearing in question??? By the way, I received a '3'. If I hadn't attened the meetings for BEST, and had a GREAT mentor I surely would have failed based on the directions your talking about in that handbook. I just happened to be lucky.

[holyyakker]

The BEST program is probably one of the most heavily bad mouthed aspects of teaching in Connecticut. It receives criticisms strikingly familiar to those slung at NCLB. And it is for exactly these reasons I think it is a wonderful program and is most likely doing it's job. I have yet to see one colleague who I genuinely felt deserved to be teaching and was a successful teacher fail to pass the BEST program.

[holyyakker]

It forces teachers to engage in vital areas of self reflection, unit construction, differentiation, and teaching to multiple modalities of learning. Going through the program has improved my ability to construct and implement a well thought out and engaging unit within my field. In fact, the majority of the criticism I hear slung at BEST is by teachers who never completed a portfolio and merely are lamenting how 'horrible' it is we have to do it.

[holyyakker]

Take away all the negative rhetoric from some other teachers and I think you'll find a very effective program that does what it is supposed to do.

[geometryishard]

Holyyakker, do you mean to say that BECAUSE BEST is crticized you think it is a wonderful program? That is what your post says, but that is illogical. I will also take this opportunity to remind you that *it's* is used as a contraction of the words it and is; you used it incorrectly above. I hope you don't teach logic or English. You certainly are entitled to your opinions, though...

[holyyakker]

Workers often complain when additional certification or paperwork is assigned to them. That is not because the paperwork is not useful, but because it is inconvenient. I call into question the source of the criticism. A program that is making teachers do extra work is going to draw the ire of teachers. The fact that they are complaining shows me that most likely the level of work is probably right where it should be.

[jrfeenix]

While I don't disagree with the idea that people will criticize things that give them more work to do, don't dismiss the fact that people will also criticize things that give them more than the appropriate level of work. The fact that it's being criticized on its own does not speak to which side of the fence it falls on.

[geometryishard]

Yes, exactly. Teaching itself is a lot of work; we didn't go into it because we're lazy. Planning, grading, meetings, etc. take a lot of time but they are useful and necessary. Many of us found that BEST, while necassary, was not useful or helpful.

[blueknuckle]

I got a "3" and for me it was exactly like getting an A- in college from a professor who penalized me for asking too many questions. I was very proud of my three precisely because I found the entire process invalid. It's a crock. At my school (like most others, I'm sure) we spend as much time and energy as possible helping second years survive the process. There's nothing to be gained from it, per se.

[blueknuckle]

In Grad School I did a research paper on the program. I found many articles in which those responsible admitted they were trying to sour the milk. Since attrition rates are so high (one-third of all starting teachers quit the profession in the first five years) the state decided it would make simply becoming a teacher unpalatable to all but the most innately motivated. That's cruel and soul-crushing for a large number of highly talented, motivated, well-intentioned young professionals.

[ocdigitalvideo]

I am the husband of a Science Teacher in CT and experienced her many struggles with the BEST Portfolio... when I watched this video, everything they said was EXACTLY what she said throughout those grueling months - i.e. "it evaluates my writing, not my teaching; it takes time away from giving to my students fully; it robbed me of my passion for teaching"

[ocdigitalvideo]

Furthermore, although she [my wife] received a "4" on her BEST, she WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TO TEACH IN THE STATE OF CT. Stay away!

[jrfeenix]

"It's not an educator support and training program, it's a stress test for teachers."

I received a 4 and a 3 on my two elementary sequences, but I strongly believe that too much of our score is based on how well-written it is. What are we assessing, how clearly we can write, or how well we can teach? I also had excellent mentors, and can't imagine doing nearly as well without their support and guidance. It's appalling that there are people in that position when their careers are on the line.

[holyyakker]

That is rather ignorant when you actually look over the rubric upon which you are assessed. While your ability to actually convey your thoughts and ideas is important it isn't what they are looking for. Additionally, depending on when you completed the program it could be quite different now. It is under constant revision and refinement. Even as I compared my portfolio to one completed only 3 years before it was remarkably more focused a process.

[jrfeenix]

I completed it just last year. It is true that the rubric does stress the importance of unit construction, differentiation, and reflection. However, a teacher can do these things wonderfully and not offer specific enough information in the write-ups to show it. It can be quite a difficult task to say everything you need to say and give the evaluator a complete feel for your lesson in a mere two pages.

[holyyakker]

Part of the reason they went to the two page limit was so that portfolios would be a more manageable size and to again help teachers REALLY focus on those aspects in their reflections. I actually thought it was challenging, but in a positive way that made me think and really write only what was important rather than padding my portfolio with big words and extraneous information.

[jrfeenix]

It still stands to reason that someone who is not a particularly good writer would not be able to clearly explain every component covered in the rubric in this amount of space. If they aren't able to clearly convey the information, it doesn't matter whether or not they constructed a meaningful unit. This is why I commented earlier that it puts too much emphasis on how well we can write about what we did, as opposed to how well we actually teach.

[holyyakker]

I will probably offend someone by saying this, but oh well. If you are having trouble hitting all the points on the rubric within the two page lesson log because you do not have enough grasp of the written language then it speaks to a bigger problem. Yes, it takes work, but with font and spacing and margins at the minimum allowed you can fit quite a bit of information into two pages.

[jrfeenix]

You're right in that most people should be able to fit it in that space. However even if they can't, it really shouldn't matter, as that's not what the program was designed to assess.

[holyyakker]

It is designed to test their basic competence as a teacher. If they can't fit the information in the space then perhaps there is a problem that the Praxis I or II didn't catch.

[graceruth01]

I passed, but it was a lot of work and had my career at stack. It taught me nothing. As a second year teacher, I was trying to plan better lessons, but instead got stuck committing my time and efforts into the BEST program. I know it hurt my students and did not make me a better teacher. I lost respect for the education program in Connecticut. If it was designed to make me a better teacher, then why didn't I get any feedback?

[geometryishard]

If it's bad form to teach to the test, why are we teachers being encouraged to teach to the BEST? My plans were warped for weeks working on that; it was not a reflection of my usual teaching practice at all, and NOT for the better! (And I had no mentor, either.) Get rid of it!!