Being Fair with Kids: The Effects of Poor Leadership in Rule Making

163 Pages·2013·2.586 MB·English

by  Jim Dueck

Being Fair
with Kids
The Effects of Poor
Leadership in Rule Making
JIM DUECK, EdD
Rowman & Littlefield Education
A division of
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
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Published by Rowman & Littlefield Education
A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
10 Thornbury Road, Plymouth PL6 7PP, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2013 by Jim Dueck
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dueck, Jim, 1946–
Being fair with kids : the effects of poor leadership in rule making / Jim Dueck.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61048-938-6 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-61048-939-3 (pbk. : alk.
paper)— ISBN 978-1-61048-940-9 (electronic : alk. paper)
1. School age (Entrance age) 2. Readiness for school. 3. Academic achievement. I.
Title.
LB1133.D84 2013
371.2'19—dc23
2013011259
™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
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This book is dedicated to
my brother-in-law, George,
for his talent in wordsmithing my thoughts,
and to my colleagues and friends in
Alberta’s Learner Assessment and
System Improvement Groups for
their talent in assessment,
research, and accountability.
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Contents
Preface vii
1 Fairness to Students 1
2 Birth Rather than Worth Counts Too Much 7
3 Relative-Age Effect in Education 13
4 The Annual Single-Date Entry 19
5 A Critical Decision Moment 25
6 It Is What It Isn’t 35
7 Student Achievement by Birth Month 49
8 Getting Older Doesn’t Make It Go Away 61
9 Education’s Glass Ceiling 79
10 Social Promotion 93
11 A Global Perspective 99
12 The Finnish Solution: Less Is More 105
13 The New Zealander’s Solution 111
14 Getting Down to “Brass Tacks” 113
v
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vi CONTENTS
15 Getting Practical 129
16 Dual Entry Is Not New 137
17 Conclusion 143
References 149
About the Author 153
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Preface
This is a book about a serious tragedy which we can put right with courage
and determination. It is a call to action that identifies problems, defines them,
and names them. It is not about theory, although sound pedagogic principles
inform the solutions and rigorous analysis undergirds the critique. It is not
about speculation and conjecture, although there are logical inferences and
commonsense optimism about a preferred future.
My concern about unfair schooling practices began when I stepped into
the classroom and saw firsthand the impact of unfair “rules” on our children.
The arguments I make in this book had their genesis in the classroom and in
my deep care and concern for the children in our schools. My research began
in these early years as I taught and attended graduate school.
This interest grew and expanded during my years as a school administra-
tor and then later when I became a superintendent and then team leader in a
provincial ministry of education. Over the last ten years I have worked with
leading educators in other parts of Canada, the United States, and Europe.
Many of these individuals shared my concern about the issues I deal with in
the book, and my ideas are shaped by their wisdom and experience.
The foundational research project, which was most relevant to the is-
sues I address in this book, was one I oversaw during a twelve-year period
as a senior leader in the Alberta Ministry of Education. Every year my team
surveyed all the sixty-two school districts and compiled a large database on
vii
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viii PREFACE
achievement. A K–12 student population of more than six hundred thousand
students provided not only a large database but also an entire regional popu-
lation. The statistical tests are based on carefully crafted surveys and tests,
which meet the most rigorous statistical standards.
Upon retirement and in preparation for this book, I used a purposive
sample and semistructured interview model to obtain qualitative information
from key stakeholders. I discussed the findings of this research with teachers,
administrators, parents, and trustees. During the course of my forty years in
the education system I met with thousands of people to discuss issues and
solutions around the subject of relative-age effect.
The primary research for producing the data was a team effort within
Alberta Education, where staff in the Learner Assessment Branch and the
System Improvement Group shared my concern and passion. The assembled
data was distributed openly to and discussed formally with stakeholders, lead-
ers in the department, and politicians. Sections within the story were not well-
received by some stakeholders because they revealed ways in which students
were systematically and systemically disadvantaged.
My years of interaction with educational leaders and my work in a senior
government role led me to become increasingly sensitive to the need for our
educational system to become more accountable and fiscally responsible. This
became a major secondary motivation for writing the book. On the one hand,
I remained primarily concerned about our children and the personal tragedy
we are creating for them. On the other hand, I am also concerned about
the fact that we are recklessly disregarding our young people as the greatest
resource we have and we are doing this in a profligate way characterized by
systemic waste and inefficiency.
The book begins with a description of the tragedy and a definition of the
problems. Along the way I reference realistic and feasible solutions, but I
develop these in depth in the last third of the book. Unfair schooling prac-
tices, which we knowingly ignore, are inexcusable, especially given the fact
that there are reasonable solutions. And because the problems create a legacy
of harm, they are unconscionable. My hope is that this book will encourage
educators and noneducators to unite in a common effort to bring about the
transformational change we need to ensure all our children are treated fairly.
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1
Fairness to Students
OUR NATION’S MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE
Children are a nation’s most valuable resource. They enter the world helpless,
totally dependent on nurturing parents and other adults. Most spend a sub-
stantial portion of their childhood in a government-sponsored education sys-
tem. Even when they enter their “first rite of passage” as schoolchildren, they
remain essentially ignorant of the hopes and dreams adults have for them.
Once in school they are surrounded by people who espouse commitment to
helping them achieve their potential. Most progress through twelve years of
primary and secondary education with relatively few setbacks and go on to
experience varying levels of success in their personal and professional lives.
But a considerable number do not, and their story is largely untold and
misunderstood. With so many resources and so much attention devoted to
them, it seems inconceivable and even unconscionable that such a large group
would begin to experience difficulties and even failure as soon as they begin
formal schooling. Are there rules in place which can be changed to remove
aspects of schooling which are unfair?
It is even more distressing to know that difficulties attributable to the
school system frequently have a lifelong negative impact on a child. Appre-
hensions about these difficulties and enduring consequences lead to tensions
between home and school as the adults involved endeavor to assess each
child’s potential and determine what educational, compensatory program-
ming is required to address gaps between expectations and achievement.
1
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