Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch had a way of springing up all over the city, continually
asking constituents, “How am I doing?” However, in recent years the phrase has been associ-
ated with elected officials who seem to reappear shortly before election day to solicit sup-
port for their campaigns. Whatever you think of politicians, it is a fair question that needs to
be asked by officeholders as well as by schools and teachers. The problems in both cases
are, “What criteria should we use to assess performance?” and “How accurate are measuring
instruments?” In addressing these questions, I am going to use sports metaphors. If you are
someone who hates sports, please bear with me.
Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character in the movieJerry Maguire(1996) offers us a clue in his well-
known refrain, “Show me the money!” As a football player seeking a new contract, Gooding
evaluates his agent, while the team evaluates Gooding, based on performance standards.
How well did Gooding’s character perform compared with similar athletes? Is he receiving a
commensurate salary? Both the athlete and the agent may seek additional rewards based on
effort or potential, but in general, the bottom line in sports today is, “What have you done
for me lately?”
Even among elite athletes establishing criteria for performance assessment is difficult.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, a major international controversy erupted when a gold
medal in figure skating was awarded to the Russian team. Eventually the medal was shared
with Canadian competitors; however, the underlying problem, that evaluation is based on in-
exact and often arbitrary judgments, remained.
School systems like to pretend that the evaluation of students and teachers is more or
less an exact science, like comparing the numerical statistics of quarterbacks rather than
the hard-to-measure performance of offensive tackles or ice-skaters. But there are so many
intangibles in sports that even a comparison of quarterbacks is difficult. Which should count
the most: completion percentage, yardage gained, touchdown passes, team victories, or per-
formance in big games such as the Super Bowl? For example, Hall of Famer Joe Montana did
not always have the best numbers, but he seemed to star in the biggest games. The fact is,
arguing about who is a better player is a big part of the fun of being a sports fan.
Supposedly objective rules can also be surprisingly arbitrary, so that small changes sig-
nificantly alter the performance of key participants. During the 2001 baseball season, a rede-
fined “strike zone” (higher and narrower) contributed to a 10% decline in the number of runs

CHAPTER

8

ASSESSMENT:HOW SHOULD TEACHERS

ASSESS STUDENT LEARNING AND

THEIR OWN PERFORMANCE?

201