Ms. DeVos...

Ms. DeVos' lack of understanding of the difference between measuring growth and measuring proficiency should be enough to disqualify her bid for Secretary of Education.

Let's say you and I are in the same class. You are a whiz at fractions and I am struggling along. If we are measuring proficiency, the tests we give today will show that you have reached a certain standard of performance and it will show that I have not reached that standard. After thousands of dollars spent on a scripted curriculum, people coming into my class to make sure the teacher is following the script, and the thousands more spent on high stakes standardized tests, all you know is that you have reached proficiency and I have not.

Now, let's say we are still talking about the two of us and we are in a system that measures growth. It will probably cost the same to educate and test us, but now you will see that since the last test, I have made measurable growth in my understanding of fractions and the teacher knows exactly what I need to learn next. You, on the other had, have spent the last year resting on your laurels and have made no growth in your fraction understanding. I made a year's growth and, while once you met the proficiencies, there is no evidence you made any growth in mathematical understanding of fractions. It may be because you have been a flake all year, but it also shows that the teacher relied only on proficiencies to decide how to dole out his instruction for the year.

In the second scenario, you have done nothing for the year and I have worked myself to the bone. My proficiency may still be below yours, but I have worked hard and made measurable growth. This system holds even those who are proficient to continued learning and performing beyond the standards of proficiency.
Sent February 4, 2017