Berliner Fires Away at Curriculum Narrowing, Other Federal Missteps

By Jeff Thomas

	David Berliner is the co-author of                   Collateral Damage.

David Berliner has been one of the most consistent and ardent critics of the accountability movement for years. As a Regent’s professor at Arizona State University, Berliner has concluded through his research that high-stakes testing has a significant negative impact on curriculum in K-12 education.

His most recent book, Collateral Damage, co-authored with Sharon Nichols, presents his arguments with command and passion. Nowhere does this passion seem to be more evident than his summation of the narrowing of the curriculum – which he brought to an eager audience at the AASA national conference on Friday afternoon..

“None of us can teach without a conception of what we want students to learn,” Berliner said during his Thought Leader session.

He believes the accountability movement is void of this conception, with the exception that students now are data points and test scores, not names and people.

Citing an historical perspective regarding education, Berliner reached back to John Dewey, who lamented upon the need to improve education a century ago, much in the same frame as reformers today. Berliner’s premise is that education, by focusing on test scores, has narrowed the breadth and scope of curriculum. He cited examples of where critical thinking, synthesis, problem-solving and other skills are being replaced by rote knowledge and facts.

“Ability is no damned good without the inclination to use it,” argued Berliner.

Stating his disagreement with the foundations of NCLB, Berliner cited Diane Ravitch, a professor of education at New York University, for her courage to change her thinking on high-stakes testing, from an ardent supporter to one more in line with Berliner’s views. Like Ravitch, Berliner is straight with his criticism and pulls no punches.

Skeptical of the federal government’s Race to the Top for education funds, Berliner described the problem with incentive pay this way: “If you reward one piece of a complex job [teaching], you distort the rest of the job.” He believes that the plan under Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is akin to paying teachers for test scores and not for student learning.

Berliner also noted the relative alignment between what education leaders and the public want for students -- basic skills, critical thinking, social skills and work ethic. He compared these 21^st century skills to 19^th century skills, demonstrating a significant alignment of skills that are not accurately reflected in the current structure of tests.

What does Berliner recommend? Change the test. If tests were designed to measure creativity, then teachers would alter their instruction and curriculum to the test. According to Berliner, “Teachers will teach to what they are accountable for. Teachers will teach to the test. Give them a test that’s worth teaching to.”

The greatest indictment of testing, Berliner asserts, is the amount of instructional time that has been lost in content areas.

Berliner shared evidence that he believes clearly shows as time has increased in reading in math, the rate of increase has gone down since the inception of No Child Left Behind. He cited examples of narrowed curriculum in Chicago and Texas and significant declines in time per week in social studies, science, art and music, physical education and even recess.

Another example Berliner cited was the comparison of the decline of art in California’s schools. Students in high-poverty schools received half the amount of time per week in art education when compared to more affluent students. The narrowing of the curriculum, Berliner added, has had a negative impact on teachers.

Teachers are no longer listened to, Berliner lamented. Providing examples of conversations with teachers, some teachers concluded that they only teach to the test. Berliner challenged testing data and its purpose, citing a .8 correlation between which students a teacher identifies as needing help and what accountability tests show “Teachers don’t need [high stakes] tests to know who needs help.” One teacher commented to Berliner that she wondered what happened to learning for fun.

Berliner took his final shot of his Thought Leader session at national standards, saying it they were adopted, 55 million kids would have to be homogenized. “The U.S. is not quite like Finland,” Berliner commented.