Cold and calculating, but ‘tis the season!

 Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia

[permission to reproduce granted if authorship is acknowledged]

 In last week’s blog I wrote about a proposal to provide tutoring as a means of closing the achievement gap between the students most disadvantaged by COVID-19 and those who were least affected. That blog focused on the unfortunate tendency to select familiar, preferred solutions to problems that are ill-defined. I suggested some questions one might ask to avoid putting the cart (the solution) before the horse (defining the problem clearly).

 This week I want to connect with my inner Scrooge and conduct a thought experiment about providing tutoring on a system-wide basis. There are approximately 5,000,000 elementary and secondary students in Canada. That’s about 500,000 per grade. We know from the accumulated evidence that tutoring is most effective in improving reading during the early years of school. But is it the most cost-effective way, always keeping in mind that dollars spent in this project can’t be used elsewhere?

 The literature indicates that the costs of mounting a tutoring program to supplement the instruction students receive at school are approximately $2,000 per student. These costs include training for tutors, criminal records checks, supervision, material, and payments to supervisors and often to tutors. Even when tutors are volunteers, the costs are considerable.

 The more effective tutoring programs are conducted one-to-one or in very small groups three times per week. We do not have an appraisal of the magnitude of the difference in reading between the students least affected and those most affected by COVID-19. Let’s assume, however, that the gap can be eliminated in a year’s time with the use of a well-run tutoring program. And for the purposes of this thought experiment, let’s assume that only 10% of the students need this program; the other 90% will overcome the educational gap on their own, and/or with regular school instruction, and/or with family support. The cost for a one year, Canada-wide tutoring program for the 10% of Canada’s grade two students (50,000) most disadvantaged by COVID-19 would be about $100 million.

 There is little doubt that the educational gap extends beyond 10% of Canada’s grade two student population to include a larger proportion of students at most, if not all, grade levels. To reduce a 10% gap across all grade levels through tutoring requires more than $1billion per year.

 Pursuing a tutoring program or any other program – as effective as it might be –requires careful consideration of a variety of factors. At a minimum it would be helpful to know the magnitude of the problem, the available alternatives for addressing the problem, as well as the cost and the expected impact of each alternative. That information would enable us to compare tutoring to efficient and effective alternatives (hiring additional teachers or educational assistants, for example, or providing existing teachers with professional learning to increase their effectiveness) and to the economic and social costs of doing nothing.

 It sounds cold and calculating. It is calculating, but that’s not something that we are accustomed to doing. If we did it more often, perhaps we would make better use of the scarce resources we have for the benefit of students.

 Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year

My blog will return in 2022!

Putting the Cart Before the Horse

Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia

[permission to reproduce granted if authorship is acknowledged]

Yesterday, I took part in a panel exploring the role that tutoring might have in the pandemic recovery. The panel was like so many well-intentioned efforts in education. It put the cart before the horse.

Tutoring was proposed as a possible solution to the “pandemic recovery.” The phrase “pandemic recovery” was a label for the learning that would have occurred in the absence of COVID-19 but did not. The theory underlying the panel seemed to be that learning unrecovered will have a deleterious impact on the economic future of Canadian learners and, perhaps, Canadian society and its economy. I inferred much of this from the sponsors and individuals involved in the panel.

I agreed to be a panelist because the invitation came from people I respect and like. However, the problem to which tutoring was the solution being explored was not clearly defined. It is common that people want to address a vaguely defined problem with a familiar and preferred solution.

The leadoff often question for the panel was a clue that the problem had not been clearly identified. The question was, “what are some of the key issues we need to grapple with, post pandemic, for K-12 students?” 

Like other panelists, I was given a brief opportunity to respond to the question. My response posed questions that I think need to be addressed in this context or in any other policy context but frequently are not: What is the problem? What is the source of the problem? What is the universe of alternatives for addressing the problem? What criteria were used to select tutoring from among the available alternatives? What did the analysis of risks suggest about the obstacles to the success of the provision of tutoring on a mass basis? How will those obstacles be addressed? What are the costs and consequences of doing nothing? Will doing something – in this case tutoring – make things worse unintentionally? How might the resources that would be devoted to tutoring be used with greater effect and efficiency?

The second question I was asked to address was, “what do you see as the obstacles and opportunities when it comes to integrating tutoring into our planning for an educational recovery?” I used the brief time at my disposal to raise issues that came to mind regarding tutoring that might also apply to other initiatives intended to address some problem in education, even if ill-defined.

Equity of access to the proposed solution:

I wanted to know what mechanisms have been established to ensure those most in need receive the proposed solution (in this case, tutoring). What I had in mind were the obstacles to implementing the solution. Knowing that providing teachers in small, rural, and remote regions of Canada is challenging, for instance, I wondered how one could ensure that those regions would receive tutoring support? I wondered how, if support would be provided via the internet, would inequities in access to internet, equipment, and bandwidth be overcome to ensure the intended benefits?

Equity of outcomes:

If there are inequities of access and opportunity, there will almost certainly be inequities in the outcomes. I wondered what consideration had been given to preventing a seemingly well-intentioned solution (tutoring) from exacerbating pre-existing inequities that might have been made worse by COVID-19. In Canada, for example, finding tutors for students in French immersion programs is likely to be difficult.

Quality assurance:

With equity in mind, I said it was important to know what mechanisms had been established to ensure that the quality of the tutoring that vulnerable students receive is commensurate with that of their more advantaged peers. 

Unintended consequences:

I asked if there was a danger that tutoring might relieve school systems of the pressure for addressing the educational needs of the students receiving tutoring. “Yes, she’s behind, but the tutor is handling that!”

Providing and allocating resources:

It was my understanding that efforts were underway to persuade the Government of Canada to provide resources that will be spent in the education sector. I wondered whether the proponents had considered the jurisdictional obstacles that might impede the success of the initiative or even the need for tutors to have passed criminal record checks.

I also asked what thought had been given to whether the education system had the capacity to implement the proposed solution and, if the solution was being implemented by persons outside of the system, how school system employees and employee groups would perceive the assistance.

I had other questions, ones that I routinely try to ask, when analyzing problems such as how do we know what problem we are trying to address, the alternatives we have for addressing it, how we will select the most effective and efficient alternative, ensure its faithful implementation, and evaluate its impact. Getting answers to those questions is sometimes helpful in avoiding putting the cart before the horse which is what I felt happened yesterday.

I have biases and so do you

 Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia

[permission to reproduce granted if authorship is acknowledged]

Recently, I completed one of a series of tests to reveal implicit biases. I have biases. Probably you do, too.

Implicit biases are often unconscious and unintentional, but they shape our behaviour toward others. It is something the makes many people uncomfortable, and something that some will deny.  

Implicit bias received much attention in policing when a retired, Black B.C. Supreme Court Judge was erroneously detained by Vancouver police and an Indigenous man and his granddaughter were handcuffed after attempting to open a bank account. The issue has also received attention in health care.

The education system has received less public scrutiny, but not because implicit bias is not present. There is a half century of research evidence of implicit bias in teachers’ expectations about academic achievement[1] and its malleability,[2] disparities in school discipline and suspensions,[3] and recommendations about placement.[4]

The implicit biases revealed by many of the studies of the issue are relatively small. But being small makes them less likely to be evident to the person exhibiting the bias. For example, Tenenbaum and Ruck found higher expectations for Asians and for Europeans when compared with Latinos and Afro-Americans. “Teachers made more positive referrals and fewer negative referrals[5] for European American students than for Latino/a and African American students . . .” and used more positive or neutral speech (questions, encouragement) with Europeans, too.[6] Teachers’ negative speech was distributed equally across groups.

The expectations teaches have may lead to differential treatment and  opportunities, and may affect the disciplinary climate of the classroom. Riley and Ungerleider found that fictional students with identical academic records of achievement were evaluated more negatively if the student was perceived to be Aboriginal.[7]

Implicit biases can work in unanticipated ways. For example, the graduation rates of Indigenous students have, in many jurisdictions, improved over the past twenty-five years. But a close look at student records where I live indicates that some graduates have not fully met the standards expected of graduates. One educator put it this way:

The most profound impact that I believe as an educator that is happening with Aboriginal learners is the soft bigotry of low expectations which is a racism perpetrated on Aboriginal students by educators who do not believe that they can achieve the same outcomes or the same level of understanding as non-Aboriginal students.[8]

The existence of implicit biases is indisputable. The pernicious thing about them is that they are often subtle, unrecognized, and, one hopes, unintentional. Readers might want to take one of the suite of tests available here.

---

[1] Tenenbaum, H.  R and M.D. Ruck (2007) Are Teachers' Expectations Different for Racial Minority Than for European American Students? A Meta-Analysis, Journal of Educational Psychology.  99( 2), 253-273.

[2] Stephens, J.M., Rubie-Davies, C., and E.R. Peterson (2021), Do preservice teacher education candidates’ implicit biases of ethnic differences and mindset toward academic ability change over time? Learning and Instruction,

101480, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101480.

[3] Staats, C. (2014) Implicit Racial Bias and School Discipline Disparities: Exploring the Connection, Kirwan Institute Special Report. https://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/

[4] Riley, T. & C. Ungerleider (2012) Self-fulfilling Prophecy: How Teachers’ Attributions, Expectations, and Stereotypes Influence the Learning Opportunities Afforded Aboriginal Students. Canadian Journal of Education. 35(2) 03-333.

[5] Referrals to special education and for disciplinary action.

[6] Tenenbaum and Ruck (2007)

[7] Riley and Ungerleider

[8] Directions Evidence and Policy Research Group (June 17, 2016) BC Antiracism Research, British Columbia Ministry of Education, https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/ways-to-learn/aboriginal-education/abed-antiracism-research.pdf

Do we value children as much as we value pets?

 Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia

[permission to reproduce granted if authorship is acknowledged]

 At one of the virtual gatherings of my extended family, my nephew said that he would not be able to sign into the next Zoom because he had to sign into a continuing education session. The session was required as a condition of maintaining his license in veterinary medicine. A lively discussion ensued among the 10 callers about the regulations affecting veterinary medicine in California. We are a peculiar family.

At one point my nephew said “you won’t believe the regulations! There are hundreds of pages of them. Go check it out.” So, I did.

My nephew was exaggerating a bit by saying there are “hundreds of pages.” There are more than 500 pages of regulations governing vets in California, but the document containing the regulations incorporates legislation and regulations such as the regulation of drugs. Nonetheless, the licensure regulations governing veterinary medicine run to 118 pages.

 I examined the British Columbia Teachers Act on the internet. For the sake of comparison, I saved it as a PDF. It runs 46 pages. The cynic in me whispered about the symbolic meaning of the difference in pagination, but I tried not to listen.

What did strike me is the matter that prompted the family conversation, namely the requirement for professional learning to maintain licensure. The California regulation defines: “continuing education;” “statutory,” “recognized,” or “approved” providers of continuing education; “quality continuing education” or “qualifying course;” “self-study course,” and more. Licensees must renew their licenses every two years. During the intervening period, they must have completed 36 hours of continuing education.

Veterinary medicine is not unique among the regulated professions in the US or Canada. Almost all regard continuing education as necessary to “maintain competence and skills consistent with the current standards and practices that is beyond the initial academic studies needed to be licensed” (California Veterinary Medicine Practice Act) Teaching is among the few exceptions among regulated professions in not requiring continuing education as a condition of licensure either in legislation or regulation.

No Canadian province or territory requires continuing education as a condition to maintain one’s teaching license. That does not mean that teachers do not engage in some form of continuing education, usually what California would call “self-study.” Professional development is often a contractual matter between teachers and their employers (but not a condition of their continuing employment).

Professions are regulated by government to ensure the public’s interest is served. The professional regulation of veterinary practitioners certainly recognizes that maintaining the currency of one’s knowledge is an obligation of all veterinarians. Those who wrote the regulations recognized the limitations of simply stating the obligation and made maintenance of one’s knowledgebase a requirement for licensure. They even went a bit further in putting the onus on veterinarians to renew their licenses and provide proof they had completed the 36 hours of mandatory continuing education since their prior license was issued.

Is it not about time that we had a similar requirement for the teaching profession?

Why public schools are public

 Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia

[permission to reproduce granted if authorship is acknowledged]

Parents seeking programs that they believe are in the “best interests” of their own children sometimes act as if the education they seek is a private benefit. In seeking an education that is in a child’s or grandchild’s best interest it is easy for parents or grandparents to lose sight of why public schools are public.

If education were primarily a private benefit, it would not be something supported by governments; it would be left to families to determine the why, the what, and the how of educating the young. But in enrolling their children in public school they do not have that discretion.

Governments provide for schooling because it is a public good, something of benefit to everyone. Few people read the legislation establishing public schools but doing so is instructive. The purposes of education are often set out in a public schools or education act that is readily accessible.

The Public Schools Act in Manitoba, for example, proclaims that “a strong public school system is a fundamental element of a democratic society.”[i] Alberta’s act simply says, “Education is the foundation of a democratic and civil society.”[ii] Ontario’s act declares that “a strong public education system is the foundation of a prosperous, caring and civil society.”[iii] Despite differences in the way it is expressed, the contribution of schooling to a democratic, civil society is among public education’s paramount purposes.

Several acts speak specifically about the active connection between public schooling and the health, prosperity, and well-being of society. Manitoba says that “public schools should contribute to the development of a fair, compassionate, healthy and prosperous society.”[iv] Nova Scotia describes that the primary mandate of its publicly funded school system is “to provide education programs and services for students to enable them to develop their potential and acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy society and a prosperous and sustainable economy.”[v]

In the context of setting out the purposes of public schooling, the various statements of purpose refer to individual students. However, they make clear that the development of the individual is in service to the [re]creation of society. Some are quite explicit about the link between the student and the student’s social contribution. Alberta, for example, states “the role of education is to develop engaged thinkers who think critically and creatively and ethical citizens who demonstrate respect, teamwork and democratic ideals and who work with an entrepreneurial spirit to face challenges with resiliency, adaptability, risk-taking and bold decision-making.”[vi]

In addition to the general references to democracy and civil society, some statements of purpose are more specific. British Columbia’s School Act says that educational programs are “designed to enable learners to become literate, to develop their individual potential and to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy, democratic and pluralistic society and a prosperous and sustainable economy.”[vii] BC complements its School Act with a ministerial order devoted to the mandate of the school system that provides the rationale for the emphasis on social and economic goals:

Continued progress toward our social and economic goals as a province depends upon well-educated people who have the ability to think clearly and critically, and to adapt to change. Progress toward these goals also depends on educated citizens who accept the tolerant and multi-faceted nature of Canadian society and who are motivated to participate actively in our democratic institutions.[viii]

The BC ministerial order makes clear that individuals have an obligation to contribute to the development of that society, and specifies that the educational program is designed to produce citizens who are:

·         thoughtful, able to learn and to think critically, and who can communicate information from a broad knowledge base;  

·         creative, flexible, self-motivated and who have a positive self-image;

·         capable of making independent decisions;

·         skilled and who can contribute to society generally, including the world of work;

·         productive, who gain satisfaction through achievement and who strive for physical well being;

·         cooperative, principled and respectful of others regardless of differences;

·         aware of the rights and prepared to exercise the responsibilities of an individual within the family, the community, Canada, and the world.[i]

The public schools or education acts and related policies make clear that education is instrumental in developing the knowledge, values, and behaviours that citizens need to maintain a socially cohesive and productive society. The territory of Nunavut is perhaps the most explicit about the importance of the education system in preserving Inuit values and traditional knowledge.

 It is the responsibility of the Minister, the district education authorities and the education staff to ensure that Inuit societal values and the principles and concepts of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit are incorporated throughout, and fostered by, the public education system.[x]

The principles and concepts of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit define what it means to be a citizen in Nunavut:

•        Respecting others, relationships and caring for people (Inuuqatigiitsiarniq);

•        Fostering good spirit by being open, welcoming and inclusive (Tunnganarniq);

•        Serving and providing for family or community, or both (Pijitsirniq);

•        Decision making through discussion and consensus (Aajiiqatigiinniq);

•        Development of skills through practice, effort and action (Pilimmaksarniq or Pijariuqsarniq);

•        Working together for a common cause (Piliriqatigiinniq or Ikajuqtigiinniq);

•        Being innovative and resourceful (Qanuqtuurniq); and

•        Respect and care for the land, animals, and the environment (Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq)

The curricula of the provinces and territories are intended to express what students must know and be able to do to prepare for adult citizenship. Public schooling benefits all of us by making sure that each student is prepared for adult citizenship. Public schooling is not about you or me, but about us.  

---

[i] Manitoba, The Public Schools Act C.C.S.M. c. P250,

[ii] Alberta, Education Act, Statutes of Alberta, 2012  c. E-0.3

[iii] Ontario, Education Act, RSO 1990, c. E.2

[iv] Manitoba, Ibid.

[v] Nova Scotia, Education Act,

[vi] Alberta, Ibid

[vii] British Columbia School Act, RSBC 1996

[viii]  British Columbia, Statement of Education Policy Order, OIC 1280/89

[ix] Ibid.

[x] Nunavut, Education Act, S.Nu. 2008

What is measured matters

 Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia

[permission to reproduce granted if authorship is acknowledged]

 There are variations on a common theme in the discussion of large-scale student assessment. One version is “what is measured matters.” Another is “what matters is measured.” Those who argue that confining large-scale student assessment to literacy and numeracy gives prominence to those capacities and diminishes the other contributions that schools make. 

It is important to give prominence to literacy and numeracy because they are so fundamental to learning in school and out. There are, however, many important contributions of schooling that are not systematically measured across the education system.

Consider the school system where I live. British Columbia’s school system is designed to “enable learners to develop their individual potential and to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy society and a prosperous and sustainable economy.” To that end, it strives to develop educated citizens who are:

·         thoughtful, able to learn and to think critically, and who can communicate information from a broad knowledge base;

·         creative, flexible, self-motivated and who have a positive self image;

·         capable of making independent decisions;

·         skilled and who can contribute to society generally, including the world of work;

·         productive, who gain satisfaction through achievement and who strive for physical wellbeing;

·         cooperative, principled, and respectful of others regardless of differences; and

·         aware of the rights and prepared to exercise the responsibilities of an individual within the family, the community, Canada, and the world.[1]

In recent years, the British Columbia Ministry of Education has revised the provincial curriculum to better reflect these goals. Now it is time for the Ministry to revise its assessments to align with its vision of the educated citizen and the curricula designed to help students realize that vision. To that end, the Ministry should develop and implement a new suite of provincial assessments:

Print and media literacy: Literacy is the foundation for school success and success later in life. Literacy is essential for developing numeracy, critical thinking, problem-solving, and almost every other human capacity. When students do not acquire a strong literacy foundation early in their school careers, they are more likely to experience failure in school and lack the foundation for productive, adult citizenship.

Using communication technologies is ubiquitous. Misinformation and dis-information are major societal problems. Being media literate is as important as being print literate and is as crucial to critical thinking.

Numeracy: Understanding and working with numbers is fundamental to everyone’s life. Thought and action depend on understanding and using numbers. Deciphering a recipe, reading a climate graph, computing interest, sequencing an argument, dancing, playing an instrument, and constructing an historical timeline are illustrative activities that require an understanding of numbers and the ability to apply them.

Critical thinking: The ability to formulate a question, analyze an argument, ask and answer challenging questions, judge the credibility of sources, make inferences, and identify unstated assumptions are among the abilities that critical thinkers possess and use in every aspect of life.

Communicating: Representing and presenting ideas, arguments, and emotions in ways that are coherent and understandable to others are essential to effective communication.

Social and personal competence: We use our abilities to self-regulate, empathize, motivate, read social situations, and develop relationships to work with others productively, settle disputes, and cooperate with others every day.

 These are examples of assessments that the revised BC curriculum requires to realize its promise to society. These assessments should have NO consequences for individual students or teachers; in other words, they will be no stakes assessments. They should be designed to provide information:

•                    about how well students have mastered the curriculum.

•                    about equity among sub-populations of students.

•                    to parents about the progress their children are making.

•                    for developing policy, allocating resources, and providing opportunities for professional learning.

•                    about how well the education system is fulfilling its mandate.

•                    to improve public confidence in the education system.

Provincial assessments that give teachers information about their students provide an opportunity for a rich discussion among educators about their own expectations and those of others.  In these discussions teachers can learn from one another about their instructional practices, what Andy Hargreaves calls the “derivatization” of the classroom. If each teacher operates within her/his own bundle of expectations for students, with no reference to others inside and outside the school, there is no reason for the teacher to challenge her or his assumptions and expectations. Such discussions are essential to the collaboration among professionals that can lead to greater equity of performance and, ultimately, outcomes. 

There is much more to schooling than what we currently measure on a system-wide basis. Schools develop capacities for thinking critically, for communicating ideas and emotions in a variety of media, and for developing us as human beings and teaching us to relate to others respectfully . . . and much more. Those capacities matter and they should be measured systematically.

---

[1] Statement of Education Policy Order, OIC 1280/89. British Columbia Ministry of Education. https://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/PubDocs/bcdocs/365524/oic_1280-89.pdf