Am I Still a Good Teacher? (Thoughts on Bad Test Scores)

I received the e-mail on Monday morning. That's the beauty of data transparency. The whole district gets to find out how the sixth grade ELL classrooms did on the post-test (third quarter post-test). We're not last, but we're on the bottom half. I say that I don't believe in the tests. I claim that learning is often immeasurable. However, in the moment, I'm crushed. There's a scarlet letter side to data transparency that allows me to walk the halls and catch the sympathetic glances. Coaches offer "help." Fellow teachers offer "resources." And though our data was at the top last quarter, we are now the struggling class. And me? I'm a student achievement has-been. I don't mind learning from failure, but this is a different kind of failure, because I had such little control over the metrics. It is so much more public than the things I can control (like which strategies I use or the relationship that I have with my class). Am I still a good teacher? That's a question I usually ask if I've shamed a kid or if I yelled at my class. That's a valid question when the lessons tank. But here's the thing: we had a great third quarter with fewer discipline problems and a stronger classroom climate than ever before. Students engaged in project-based, inquiry-driven learning. Then it hits me: My students might have achieved less than in previous quarters, but they learned more.  And my value as a teacher can't be defined by achievement. It has be about learning. In this sense, the student evaluations are more meaningful than the widely broadcast achievement scores. I still feel down. It's amazing how the emotions linger, even after the mindset readjusts. And it has me thinking that the biggest danger in the tests is that it's worse for students. They carry the scarlet data with them forever and all too often, it defines them.