Running Head: Accountability

Accountability: A Teachers Perspective

Ashley Sustaita
University of St. Thomas

Accountability: A Teachers Perspective

Accountability: A Teachers Perspective

Nerves raced as teachers prepped for the numerous lives they would impact during the
upcoming school year. Countless hours were spent outside of school to prepare for the demands
placed before them. Meetings and guidelines were forced down their throats to memorize and
understand in just a few minutes. Expectations for the upcoming STAAR test were set before
them without talk or realization of what was really at stake. I sat in the room with the other
teachers about to enter my eighth year of teaching feeling the same frustration as my counter
parts. This frustration was steamed by the set expectations from the state of Texas and the school
district. Our school stated our math scores would go from 67 percent passing to 86 percent
passing in one school year.
As the first day of school fast approached, all of the teachers were thrown into a frenzy to
prepare for their new students. As a teacher with experience, I understood the expectations that
had been set by our administrative team during inservice. I was ready for this years challenges
and understood what it would take to be a player of the game of accountability. I would have to
train my students to pass a standardized test by the end of the school year. I understood that I
would not be able to dig into the subject I loved. I would only have enough time to touch on
each student expectation and make sure they could answer a few multiple choice questions
correctly. I would also have to teach these students who learned at different levels and different
ways to think the same way on the standardized test.
My first year teaching to meet the States expectations was nerve racking because I knew
my job would be directly tied to my students success. Over the years I had learned to manage
that stress into student success. It is crucial for a teacher to manage their stress level throughout
the year so it doesnt directly affect the success of the students and the teacher in the classroom.

Accountability: A Teachers Perspective

I have figured out how to play the game of accountability into my favor. I just had to make
sure each year I better my skills to raise the success of each group of my students.
All of the content I was expected to teach during the year would be evaluated by the
STAAR test at the end of the year. My scores would be posted in the data room and compared to
the other teachers of the same subject. If my scores werent acceptable to the standards set by
the state and my school district, I would lose my job. It is sad to think that a teacher could lose
his or her job based on nothing else but a students test scores. Teachers and students are more
than test scores, but this is exactly how we are judged.
This test did not have the same passing rate that would be consistent with that of what it
was when I was in school. This passing rate had been dropped to a measly 37 percent. This
translates into our students only being required to know less than half of the material taught from
the year. How are our students supposed to compete with students from other countries when
our expectations are so low? Our job as teachers throughout the year were not measured by the
relationships we build, the real life knowledge we helped the students understand, but if they
could score a 37 on a test at the end of the year. It is ironic that so much emphasis is placed on a
single test at the end of the year with a passing standard so low, yet so many of our students
continue to struggle to pass.
As I enter the classroom during my eighth year of teaching, I was prepared to do
everything necessary to have my students ready to take the EOC test in May. I understood what
was at stake and what I needed to do to get them to the point of passing. It is frustrating that I
must show short cuts and cheats so the students can pass a test. I do not have time to dive
into the subject that I loved throughout high school and college. I cannot show my students how
Algebra is used in all jobs throughout America and how being confident in math can help them

Accountability: A Teachers Perspective

be more successful throughout their lifetime. Instead I must show students and remind them they
must pass this test or they wont graduate and I will be fired.
I have mastered classroom management techniques to utilize the 45 minutes I have to
teach them a weeks worth of material. I am able to train young teachers to read the student
standards so they can know exactly what will be tested, how it will be tested, and how many
times the students will see it on the standardized test. I am able to build my students with false
confidence that they can achieve this passing rate. I have become a master at manipulating my
own fate by knowing exactly what it takes to pass the EOC test.
We are now entering the month of October and the school year is flying passed all of us.
I am trying to plan ahead and ensure I teach every item that will be taught on the test in May.
The anxiety for my students will continue to rise as the months and days draw nearer of the test
day. I have come to the realization that my students will never grow to love the subject I spend
countless hours mastering for their understanding. I understand that my purpose is to get the
students to trust me enough to trust my test taking strategies to be successful on this one test. My
heart for the educational system hurts as I know our future generation is suffering because of the
current accountability system and the way we test our students. My fate this year is in the hands
of my 98 students, whom I have grown to know more about than any test. I know that I have
earned and gained their trust and compassion where they will fight for me in May.
Teachers are being forced against one another instead of coming together for a common
purpose because their scores are judged and compared to one another. Teachers are being forced
to teach to a test instead of teaching why their subject is important and what it can do for the
students future. How can we as educators get back to the purpose of our job and teach our
future generation to be successful through application and hard work, not to make a 37 on a test?

Accountability: A Teachers Perspective

My hope is that one day our accountability system will be focused on more than just one test that
treats all my students the same. I hope that it takes into consideration the relationships I build
with my students, the confidence and courage my students develop throughout the year from my
class and our relationships. My students deserve the opportunity to display their understanding
more than just one standardized way. Teachers deserve a chance to do the thing they love to do,
teach.