Basic skill test for teachers still fails state's students

Starting in September, future educators will find it much tougher to pass the Illinois Test of Basic Skills for would-be teachers, but until then, they can squeak under a bar some call shockingly low.

Currently, to enter teacher-preparation programs, college students can get as few as 35 percent of the math questions right and still pass the Basic Skills Test.

Reading and language arts? Only half right is OK. Writing? Five out of a possible 12 is acceptable.

And although test-takers also have to hit a certain overall score to pass, some educators were stunned by how poorly would-be teachers have been allowed to score on individual subtests for the last eight years. They also questioned if the test really is at "college level," as the Illinois State Board of Education claims.

Victoria Chou, dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said she was "aghast" when told someone could pass the math section with just 35 percent correct.

"I wouldn't want my kids to be taught by teachers who passed this basic of a [math] test at the 35 percent level,'' Chou said.

Would-be teacher Dustin Seibert, 38, hopes to pass the Basic Skills Test this month so he can enter National-Louis University's master's program in education. Seibert, a career-changer, said the sample questions look so easy, he's preparing with a $30 test-prep book.

"It literally is basic skills,'' said Seibert. "The stuff you see on this exam -- definitely it's high school level. ... I don't think the bar is set very high, unfortunately.''

In 2001, the Chicago Sun-Times Failing Teachers series found hundreds of teachers statewide had never passed what was then an eighth-grade level Basic Skills Test. One of 10 Chicago public school teachers had flunked it at least once.

That same year, state education officials toughened up the Basic Skills Test to what they touted as "college sophomore level.'' By 2002, rules were changed so that would-be teachers had to pass the test before they could be accepted by a teacher education program. Today, most undergraduates take the test by junior year.

While the eighth-grade level Basic Skills Test required future teachers to get 70 percent of their answers correct in every subtest, the current "college-level'' test carries much lower passing bars for each subtest, plus one overall minimum score. State education officials say someone who hits the minimum on every subtest wouldn't meet the overall minimum, but they were unable to translate the overall minimum passing score into an overall percent correct.

Barbara Radner, director of DePaul University's Center for Urban Education, said she was "shocked" by the low math bar, especially since it's a multiple-choice test where someone could get 25 percent right just by guessing.

"What test do you take where 35 percent is OK?" Radner asked. "If someone only knows 35 percent of a subject, they don't know the material. That's an F."

By September, the overall minimum score will be eliminated and new, much higher minimums will be required for each subtest -- about 79 percent correct in reading and language arts, and 75 percent correct in math. The writing test will require a score of 8 out of 12.

Linda Tomlinson, assistant superintendent at the State Board of Education, said some would-be teachers have failed the current test at least 20 times. However, recent changes now give teaching candidates only five chances to pass. By September, when the new subtest minimums hit, they can "bank" any subtests they pass and retake only those subtests they fail.

Tomlinson called the current math minimum "unacceptable'' and said, "We want teacher candidates who are strong academically in every subject.''

State education officials also hope to pass a law that would require even substitute teachers to pass the Basic Skills Test. Currently, subs need only a bachelor's degree.

The test maker, Evaluation Systems, insists the current test reflects "college-level" material, Tomlinson said. However, two experts could not find any college-level math questions on the current sample math subtest.

Textbook author Zalman Usiskin, director of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, said that doesn't mean all questions are easy. Some covering middle-grade material are difficult because of the way they are written, Usiskin said.

More than 70 percent of the sample math questions involve arithmetic or basic algebra, although some are trickier, multistep questions, said Julie Greenberg, senior policy director for the National Council on Teacher Quality.

Said Greenberg, who has read about a dozen teacher Basic Skills Tests: "This is not a test of college-level math.''

The U.S. teaching profession still draws from the "bottom half of the college population," while countries that outperform the United States tend to pull their teachers from the top third, Greenberg said.

Questions from the math section of the Illinois Basic Skills Diagnostic Practice Test

1) An elementary school has 600 students, of which 15% are in the fourth grade. Of the fourth-grade students, 60% are male. How many males are in the fourth grade? A. 30 B. 45 C. 54 D. 60

2) A recipe that makes 4 servings of soup uses 3/4 cup of chopped carrots. How many cups of chopped carrots will be needed if the recipe is increased to make 14 servings? A. 1 7/8 cups B. 2 1/4 cups C. 2 ?183-142? cups D. 3 ½ cups

In the mid 70s the Chicago teachers were on strike, I was watching the news and one of the picketers was being interviewed. She was asked what she did at the school.

I'll never forget her reply. She said, "I teaches English".

When my children were old enough, I enrolled them in a church school, not just for that reason but that was one reason.

The questions cited in the article are very similar to what my two fourth grade grand children have on their home work assignments, yet a teacher has only to answer 35% of such questions correctly.

It is child abuse to subject children to this kind of education.

You can have a very smart teacher with a 150 IQ who can’t teach worth a darn.

Sure can. But the odds of an affirmative action hire with a "math block" being a poor teacher are a whole lot higher.

If we quit hiring teachers who can't do basic math, it wouldn't be such a fearsome subject, and kids would all grow up accepting it as just another skill they know.

Here’s how it works out. Most of the people that aren’t that bright go into education because it’s one of the easiest programs to get a degree in.

Here’s what I observed at university, in terms of the hardest academic programs at the undergraduate levels. Ranked hardest to easiest:

1. Mathematics (higher math), Physics, Chemistry (especially bio-chem), Engineering.

2. Pre-med (dental, doctor), nursing.

3. Business-Accounting, Pre-law, physical therapy, foreign language studies

4. History

5. Journalism

6. Education

7. Just graduating with a general arts and crafts degree (English, poetry, Black Lesbian studies, social worker, and other burger flipping job degrees)

The notion that a special basic skills test has to be developed is utter nonsense. Any of the existing standard tests would suffice. Some years ago I did a study for the NSF which required that I review standard test scores for new college entrants by college major. Needless to say Education Majors had the lowest average scores. The current state of education in the US is pitiful. The NEA and AFT should be charged with collective malpractice for enabling this to continue.

You can try the test here:

http://www.icts.nesinc.com/IL_practest_opener.asp

I was able to answer the math questions, with just mental calculations. (Anyone, who wants to get paid for teaching math, should be able to do the same.)

I noticed a problem with the test. Some of the questions in the math section have to do with series (e.g. “what comes next”). I provided the “obvious” answer, which is what they were looking for. The real answer wasn’t shown (”any of the above”).

I took this test and got 100 percent on both the language arts and math sections. It wasn’t a difficult test; in fact, it was an embarrassment.

I would love to see some kind of bar exam for teachers... except it would probably devolve into a political selection committee. You heard it right here from someone in the trenches.

The poster who pointed out that you can be a genius and still be a poor teacher is also spot on, by the way. Good teaching requires balancing knowledge of the subject, an ability to motivate a roomful of children, and understanding how to teach well. There are some teachers I’ve worked with who were excellent at their job but couldn’t do calculus. On the other hand, they were teaching elementary-age children, so that wasn’t requisite knowledge.

My own opinion is that teachers need to have at least 15 years of experience in the private sector or as a parent before going into the classroom. My colleagues who started teaching as I did in our 40s come to the job with a depth of experience and better judgment than our younger colleagues, for the most part. We’re also better disciplinarians than our younger counterparts, too. This is just like the one of two requirements for president - most of us finally gain wisdom after the age of 35. Another plus: those of us who teach as a second (or third or fourth) career really understand the needs of the parents we serve.

As I’ve said, I wait for the day when I can walk into a town and open an office to offer my services to parents who want it, like a dentist or an attorney. I probably won’t see it, but it’s a nice dream.

I took this test and got 100 percent on both the language arts and math sections. It wasn’t a difficult test; in fact, it was an embarrassment.

I would love to see some kind of bar exam for teachers... except it would probably devolve into a political selection committee. You heard it right here from someone in the trenches.

Teachers in my state, New York, do very well financially, “its for the childern” you know.
Recently an organization has taken to publishing teacher contracts across the state on the internet. In my town, the teacher contract call for increase in salaries of 22.5% over four years ending June 30, 2010. The Consumer Price Index over the four ended December 31, 2009 has been 9.4%. The wage increasea are 2.39 times the rate of inflation. In addition the teachers can earn extra money for taking classes the lead to advanced degees and get an additional increase in salary when the degree is obtained. Of course the school system will pay for the tuition in approved courses leading to advanced degrees.

The recent College Board Report http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/cbs-2009-national-TOTAL-GROUP.pdf
indicates that the average SAT Math Scores of those intending to major in Education ranked 19th out of the 21 majors with more than 10000 future maajors. Prospective Education Majors also ranked 19th in terms of their combined Reading and Math scores.
This is indicative of the long term problem we have in our schools and a huge waste of tax payer resources since most Education Majors are offered in Public Institutions.

My issue is not with the pay received by teachers per se - but the quality of those receiving the pay. While it is true that high standardized test scores or GPAs are not sufficient to be a good teacher - there is no way they are not necessary for all academic subjects.

As for the nature and scope of teachers’ and public employee contracts - let’s save that for another day since I want to enjoy my evening.

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