Table of Contents
About the Author xvii
Foreword xix
Introduction 1
1 Educators Under Attack 5
We Have Found the Enemy, and It's … Teachers 10
2 The Phony Crisis 15
Record-Setting High School Grad nation Rates 15
More Students Succeeding in a More Rigorous Curriculum 16
Steadily Improving Test Scores 16
Parent Satisfaction 18
Student-Teacher Relations 18
Meeting the Needs of All Students 19
The Rationale for Attacking Educators 21
3 The Firings Will Continue Until Morale Improves 29
Assumption One: Charter Schools Will Improve Other Public Schools 30
Assumption Two: Providing Vouchers to Send Students to Other Public or Private Schools Will Improve Public Schools 34
Assumption Three: More Testing Means More Accountability 38
Assumption Four: Intensive Supervision and Evaluation Will Lead to the Dismissal of Ineffective Teachers 39
Assumption Five: Value-Based Testing Provides a Valid Way to Reward Effective Teachers and Dismiss Ineffective Teachers 43
Assumption Six: Merit Pay Will Improve Teaching and Therefore Improve Schools 50
Assumption Seven: Closing Low-Performing Schools Will Improve Remaining Schools 52
The Proof Is in the Pudding 53
4 Learning From High-Performing Countries 55
Singapore 56
Finland 57
The United States 60
Assessing an Unproven Theory 62
More Effective Policies 66
The Educators We Deserve? 82
5 A Word About Teacher Unions 85
Teacher Tenure 88
Last In, First Out 90
Support Alternative Ways to Compensate Teachers 92
Support Conditions for Professional Learning Communities 93
6 Laying the Foundation of a Professional Learning Community 97
Laying the Foundation of the PLC Process 99
Mission: Why Do We Exist? 101
Vision: What Must We Become? 108
Collective Commitments (Values): How Must We Behave? 110
Goals: How Will We Mark Our Progress? 113
How Long Docs It Take to Build a Shared Foundation? 115
Not Just Words on a Piece of Paper 117
7 The Imperative of a Collaborative Culture 121
Laying the Groundwork for a Powerful Collaborative Culture 124
Achieving Clarity Regarding the Right Work 135
8 Providing Students with Access to a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum 137
Creating the 21st Century Curriculum 140
District Approaches to Curriculum Development 142
How to Establish a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum 149
Moving Toward What Works 153
9 Assessment to Inform and Improve Professional Practice 157
Ongoing Formative Assessment in the Classroom 160
Team-Developed Common Formative Assessment 163
The Power of Team-Developed Common Formative Assessment 169
The Benefits of Team-Developed Common Formative Assessments 175
Common Formative Assessments: The Great Persuader 177
Overcoming Traditional Obstacles to Using Common Formative Assessments 180
Taking the Necessary Steps 188
10 Ensuring Every Student Succeeds 189
Special Education 192
More Recent Efforts to Provide Interventions 195
Observations on Typical Interventions 198
What We Must Do to Ensure High Levels of Learning for Every Student 200
Nondiscretionary Elements of Effective Systems of Intervention (What's Tight) 201
The Challenge Ahead 220
11 The Principal as Lead Learner 223
Dispersing Leadership 225
Creating Clarity and Coherence 228
Servant Leadership and Reciprocal Accountability 231
Monitoring the Work of Teams 233
Building Consensus and Responding to Resistance 235
The Importance of a Willingness to Confront 237
Celebration as Communication 241
The Role of the Principal 245
The Greatest Generation of Educators 247
References and Resources 255
Index 281
