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03June2013

DearSecretaryDuncan,

TheUSNationalCommissiononMathematicsInstruction(USNC/MI)isacommitteeoftheNationalAcademies.OurcommissionthusadvisesCongressandtheNationon

mathematicsteaching,bothnationallyandinternationally.Wearewritingtoyouasindividuals,whoseviewsreflectourserviceontheUSNC/MI,toshareourvisionfor

mathematicsteachingandtoadvocateforpoliciesthatwillsupportthisvision.We

wouldlikemathematicsteachingfromPreKindergartenthroughcollegeandbeyondtobecomeavigorous,vibrantprofessionthatisdesignedforcontinuous

improvement.

Fromourworkwitheducatorsinothercountrieswearefindingthatsystemsthat

supportteachersautonomyandprofessionalism,setahighbartoentryintotheteachingprofession,andfosterongoingdevelopmentwithinlearningcommunities

produceanenvironmentinwhichteachingandlearningthrive.Wethinkthatinthis

country,systemsshouldbedevelopedorexpandedinwhichteacherscollaborate,examineanddiscusstheirwork,useandbuildoneachothersideas,

andseektoimpresstheirpeerswiththequalityoftheirmethodsandideas.Suchan

environmentcouldallowforexcellencetobeachievedanddemonstratedinvariousways.Itwouldpushtheteachingfieldforward,inmuchthesamewayas

mathematicsandsciencemakeprogressbysharingandbuildingonideas.Itwouldcreatevigorousstrivinginthesamewaythatthesciencesdo:bytheneedto

impressonespeersandthepossibilityofdoingsoinonesownway.Ofcourse,the

ultimatemotivationforteachersismoreanddeeperlearningbystudents.

WehavelearnedfromChineseteachersthattolearncontinuallyisacentralmotto

ineducation,thatsuperrankteachersanalyzeandimprovethecurriculum,andthattestingisviewedaslesscriticalthanintheU.S.(U.S.NationalCommissionon

MathematicsInstruction,2010).WehavelearnedfromKoreanteachersthatthey

haveastrongandimpressiveteacherresearchculture,andthattheirsystemsupportsandnurturessuchaculture.

Evidenceinfavorofdevelopingsystemsinwhichteachingisanautonomous

professionwithahighbartoentryalsocomesfromFinland,wheresystemicchangesledtoimprovedteachingandlearningoverthelastseveraldecades.While

theU.S.hasintensifiedstandardizedtestingandaccountabilitysincethe1990s,Finlandatthattimeemphasizedteacherprofessionalism,school-basedcurriculum,

trust-basededucationalleadership,andschoolcollaborationthroughnetworking.(Sahlberg,2011).Indeed,Sahlbergsmainmessageisthat

thereisanotherwaytoimproveeducationsystems.Thisincludesimproving

theteachingforce,limitingstudenttestingtoanecessaryminimum,placingresponsibilityandtrustbeforeaccountability,andhandingoverschool-and

district-levelleadershiptoeducationprofessionals.ThesearecommoneducationpolicythemesinsomeofthehighperformingcountriesFinland

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amongtheminthe2009InternationalProgrammeforStudentAssessment

(PISA)oftheOECD.(Sahlberg,2011)

FinlandseducationsystemfitswithJalMehtasvision,whichhecontrastswithour

owncurrentsystem:

Teachingrequiresaprofessionalmodel,likewehaveinmedicine,law,engineering,accounting,architectureandmanyotherfields.Inthese

professions,consistencyofqualityiscreatedlessbyholdingindividual

practitionersaccountableandmorebybuildingabodyofknowledge,carefullytrainingpeopleinthatknowledge,requiringthemtoshow

expertisebeforetheybecomelicensed,andthenusingtheirprofessions

standardstoguidetheirwork.

Bythesecriteria,Americaneducationisafailedprofession.Thereisnowidelyagreed-uponknowledgebase,trainingisbriefornonexistent,the

criteriaforpassinglicensingexamsaremuchlowerthaninotherfields,and

thereislittlecontinuousprofessionalguidance.(Mehta,2013)

Webelieveitiscriticalforteachingtobearespectedprofessionandweagreewith

Sahlbergthat[a]slongasthepracticeofteachersisnottrustedandtheyarenotrespectedasprofessionals,youngtalentisunlikelytoseekteachingastheirlifelong

careeranywhere.Oriftheydo,theywillleaveteachingearlybecauseoflackofarespectfulprofessionalworkingenvironment(Sahlberg,2011).Weareconcerned

thatasstatedinateacherswidelycirculatedresignationletter[w]ehave

becomeincreasinglyevaluationandnotknowledgedriven(Strauss,2013).

Theneedforprofessional,collaborativecommunitiesofteachersisfurther

supportedbyfindingsfromresearchonprofessionaldevelopmentandschoolimprovement.ResearchonprofessionaldevelopmentintheU.S.andinternationally

indicatesthatcollaborativeapproachestoprofessionallearningandbuildingstrong

workingrelationshipsamongteachersarekeycomponentsinimprovingteacherspracticeandstudentlearning(Darling-Hammondetal.,2009,p.5).Attheschool

level,Bryketal.(2010)foundthathavingaprofessionalcommunitythatusespublic

classroompractice,reflectivedialogue,peercollaboration,andcollectiveresponsibilityforschoolimprovementwithaspecificfocusonstudentlearningisan

importantindicatorforschoolimprovement.Relationaltrustwasfoundtobeessentialfororganizationalchangeandforsustainingthehardworkofschool

improvement.

Currenteducationpolicy,includingtheRacetotheToplaw,andespeciallythepracticeofevaluatingteachersbytheirstudentsperformanceonhighstakes

assessments,willlikelyweaken,ratherthanstrengthen,theteachingprofession.Althoughthecurrentpolicymayhaveintuitiveappeal,avarietyofevidence

indicatesitwillnotleadtosustainedimprovementsinteachingandlearningover

thelongterm.Infact,itislikelytoleadtounproductiveteachingpracticesandpooroutcomes,includingnarrowingofcurricula,teachingtothetest,lesscreative

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teaching,moresuperficialandnontransferablelearning,morecontrollingbehavior

atalllevelsofpower,morewithdrawalofeffortfromat-riskstudents,andincreaseddropoutrates(Ryan&Brown,2005).Weareespeciallyconcernedthatcurrent

policyworksagainsttheprofessionalizationofteaching,thatitreinforcesasituationinwhichteachersdonotownorcontroltheirprofession,thatitdoesnotset

teachingonavigorouspathofdevelopmentandsustainableimprovement,andthatitalienatesanddemoralizesteachers.

Someoftheevidenceagainstthepracticeofevaluatingteachersbasedonhigh

stakesassessmentscomesfromresearchonmotivation.Forexample:

It is well established that use of salient extrinsic rewards to motivate work

behavior can be deleterious to intrinsic motivation and can thus have

negative consequences for psychological adjustment, performance on

interesting and personally important activities, and citizenship behavior.

(Gagne & Deci, 2005)

SDT[self-determinationtheory]researchhasfoundthatmotivationbasedon

morecontrolledmotives,suchasrewardsorpunishments(external

regulations),orself-esteem-basedpressures(e.g.,egoinvolvement)isassociatedwithlowerqualityoflearning,lessenedpersistence,andmore

negativeemotionalexperience.(Ryan&Brown,2005)

Intheirmeta-analysisof128well-controlledexperimentsexploringtheeffectsof

extrinsicrewardsonintrinsicmotivation,Deci,Koestner,andRyan(1999)foundaclearandconsistentpicture:

Ingeneral,tangiblerewardshadasignificantnegativeeffectonintrinsic

motivationforinterestingtasks,andthiseffectshowedupwithparticipantsrangingfrompreschooltocollege,withinterestingactivitiesrangingfromwordgamestoconstructionpuzzles,andwithvariousrewardsrangingfrom

dollarbillstomarshmallows.(Deci,Koetsner,&Ryan,1999)

Teachingisaninherentlycomplex,interesting,andcreativeactivitybecauseit

involvesknowingideasandwaysofthinkingandengagingotherswiththoseideas

andwaysofthinking.Thus,accordingtotheresearchonmotivation,improvingteachingwillrequireworkenvironmentsthatfosterintrinsic(orautonomous)

motivation.Motivationresearchfurtherindicatesthattheexperiencesofautonomy,aswellasofcompetenceandrelatedness,areimportantforeffective

performanceandpsychologicalhealthandwell-being(Deci&Ryan,2008).

Wedoubtthatstudentslearninggainswilloutweighthenegativeeffectstotheteachingprofessionoftest-basedaccountability.AccordingtotheNationalResearch

CouncilsCommitteeonIncentivesandTest-BasedAccountabilityinPublic

Education,theavailableevidencedoesnotgivestrongsupportfortheuseoftest-basedincentivestoimproveeducation(NationalResearchCouncil,2011,p.91).

Furthermore,

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Theresearchtodatesuggeststhatthebenefitsoftest-basedincentive

programsoverthepasttwodecadeshavebeenquitesmall.Althoughtheavailableevidenceislimited,itisnotinsignificant.Theincentiveprograms

thathavebeentriedhaveinvolvedanumberofdifferentincentivedesignsandsubstantialnumbersofschools,teachers,andstudents.Wefocusedon

studiesthatallowedustodrawconclusionsaboutthecausaleffectsofincentiveprogramsandfoundasignificantbodyofevidencethatwascarefullyconstructed.Unfortunately,theguidanceofferedbythisbodyof

evidenceisnotencouragingabouttheabilityofincentiveprogramsto

reliablyproducemeaningfulincreasesinstudentachievementexceptinmathematicsforelementaryschoolstudents.(NationalResearchCouncil,

2011)

Lookingattheeffectsoftest-basedaccountabilityfromaninternationalperspective,

wealsodonotfindsupportforsuchasystem:

Arethoseeducationsystemswherecompetition,choice,andtest-basedaccountabilityhavebeenthemaindriversofeducationalchangeshowing

progressininternationalcomparisons?UsingthePISAdatabasetoconstruct

suchacomparison,asuggestiveansweremerges.Mostnotably,theUnitedStates,England,NewZealand,Japan,andsomepartsofCanadaandAustralia

canbeusedasbenchmarks.Thetrendofstudentsperformanceinmathematicsinalltest-basedaccountability-policynationsissimilaritis

indecline,incycleaftercycle,between2000and2006.(Sahlberg,2011)

Noneoftheaboveimpliesthatstandardizedtestsforstudentsarebadorwrong.

Theissueishowtestsareused.Usingtestresultsforinformationalpurposesina

trusting,collaborativeenvironmentisentirelydifferentfromusingtestresultstomonitor,evaluate,reward,orpunishteachers.Inthismatter,wewouldbewiseto

heedCampbellsLawandhisobservationsabouttestscores:

Themoreanyquantitativesocialindicatorisusedforsocialdecision-making,

themoresubjectitwillbetocorruptionpressuresandthemoreaptitwillbe

todistortandcorruptthesocialprocessesitisintendedtomonitor.(Campbell,1976,2011,p.34)

whentestscoresbecomethegoaloftheteachingprocess,theybothlosetheirvalueasindicatorsofeducationalstatusanddistorttheeducational

processinundesirableways.(Campbell,1976,2011p.35)

Neartheendofitsreport,theNationalResearchCouncilsCommitteeonIncentives

andTest-BasedAccountabilityinPublicEducationstated:

Ourrecommendations,accordingly,callforpolicymakerstosupport

experimentationwithrigorousevaluationandtoallowmidcoursecorrectionofpolicieswhenevaluationsuggestssuchcorrectionisneeded.(National

ResearchCouncil,2011)

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Wethinkthatthetimehascomeforamidcoursecorrection.InSingapore,thereis

themottoteachless,learnmore;intheU.S.,weneedtotestless,learnmore.Wehavearguedthattest-basedaccountabilitystandstohavenegativeeffectson

teachingasaprofessionandthattherearebetterwaystoimproveteaching.Werespectfullyurgechangesinpolicytosupportastrongandvibrantmathematics

teachingprofession.

Sincerely,

SybillaBeckmann,UniversityofGeorgia1JanineRemillard,UniversityofPennsylvania

GailBurrill,MichiganStateUniversity

JamesBartaUtahStateUniversityMyong-Hi(Nina)KimSUNYCollegeatOldWestbury

RogerHowe(NAS),YaleUniversityBernardMadison,UniversityofArkansas,Fayetteville

SaraNormington,CatlinGabelSchool

JamesRoznowskiDeltaCollegePatrick(Rick)Scott,NewMexicoHigherEducationDepartment

PadmanabhanSeshaiyer,GeorgeMasonUniversity

References

Bryk,A.S.,Sebring,P.B.,Allensworth,E.,Luppescu,S.,&Easton,J.Q.(2010).

OrganizingSchoolsforImprovement,LessonsfromChicago.Chicago,IL:The

UniversityofChicagoPress.

Campbell,D.(1976,2011).AssessingtheImpactofPlannedSocialChange.Journalof

MultiDisciplinaryEvaluation,7(15),3-43.

Darling-Hammond,L.,Wei,R.C.,Andree,A.,Richardson,N.,&Orphanos,S.(2009).ProfessionalLearningintheLearningProfession:AStatusReportonTeacher

DevelopmentintheUnitedStatesandAbroad.Dallas,TX:NationalStaff

DevelopmentCouncilandTheSchoolRedesignNetworkatStanfordUniversity.

Deci,E.L.,Koestner,R.,&Ryan,R.(1999).AMeta-AnalyticReviewofExperiments

ExaminingtheEffectsofExtrinsicRewardsonIntrinsicMotivation.

PsychologicalBulletin,125(6),627-668.

Deci,E.L.,&Ryan,R.M.(2008).FacilitatingOptimalMotivationandPsychological

Well-BeingAcrossLife'sDomains.CanadianPsychology,49(1),14-23.

1PleaseaddresscorrespondencetoSybillaBeckmann,sybilla@math.uga.eduor

DepartmentofMathematics,UniversityofGeorgia,Athens,Georgia30602.

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Gagne,M.,&Deci,E.L.(2005).Self-determinationtheoryandworkmotivation.

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Mehta,J.(2013,April12).Teachers:WillWeEverLearn? NewYorkTimes.Retrieved

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NationalResearchCouncil.(2011).IncentivesandTest-BasedAccountabilityin

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Ryan.R.M.,&Brown.K.W.(2005).Legislatingcompetence:Themotivational

impactofhighstakestestingasaneducationalreform.InC.Dweck&A.E.Elliot(Eds.).Handbookofcompetence(pp.354-374)NewYork:Guilford

Press.

Sahlberg,P.(2011).FinnishLessons:WhatCantheWorldLearnfromEducational

ChangeinFinland?NewYork:TeachersCollegePress.

Strauss,V.(2013,April6).Teachersresignationletter:Myprofessionnolonger

exists.WashingtonPost.Retrievedfrom:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-

sheet/wp/2013/04/06/teachers-resignation-letter-my-profession-no-

longer-exists/

U.S.NationalCommissiononMathematicsInstruction.(2010).TheTeacher

DevelopmentContinuumintheUnitedStatesandChina:SummaryofaWorkshop.AnaFerrerasandSteveOlson,Rapporteurs;EsterSztein,Editor;

NationalResearchCouncil.Washington,DC:TheNationalAcademiesPress.