How Do You Test a Teacher?

Everyone knows that tests can solve all of the evils in education. Not sure kids are learning? Test ‘em, and use that score as the only tool by which one measures learning. Not sure a teacher is top notch? Test her. If she can pass a test, she can teach. In Colorado, an aspiring teacher pays $400 to take the state test. It’s a start. I do think you need to establish that a person has the base knowledge of the content area, but teaching is so much more.

Today, I got a call from a colleague who is struggling with a particularly difficult student. The woman who called me is by no means the first to have issues with this girl. I had her in my class last semester, and while we started off on a bumpy road, she quickly became one of my favorites. The assistant principal in charge of sophomores knew that I’d had quite a bit of success with her, so he suggested this colleague give me a call.

By the end of the first week of school, I’d figured out that this girl is one of those kids who responds to force with 10% more force. The more firm you are with her, the more she escalates. The key was in keeping an absolutely mellow demeanor, and I passed this on to my colleague. (We do that sometimes—ask previous teachers what worked. No sense reinventing the wheel.) The low-key approach doesn’t work with all kids. Some kids see a lack of force as permission to run amok. When I’m working with that kind of kid, they find out just how “in-your-face” a 5’2,” 120 lb teacher can be. I never belittle, but I don’t put up with much.

Actually, my size is an advantage. I can give a 6’2” football player a stern look and say, “Don’t make me hurt you.” The tone is all business, but the statement is absurd. They know that I’m kidding, but I’m not, if ya know what I mean. Most kids respond to an approach like this.

This is a big part of teaching. How quickly can you psych a kid out and find out what kind of teacher you need to be to teach that particular kid? Can you successfully pull off being a slightly different teacher to different students in the same classroom without looking like a flake? There isn’t a test in the world that will show that.