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Steven f/AZ
03-08-2008 20:58:13
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Re: CHEATING IN SCHOOL in reply to Nat, 03-08-2008 11:42:35
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Just another way of looking at NCLB.
No Dentist Left Behind
My dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget checkups.
He
uses
the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me, and I've
got
all my teeth.
When I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard
about
the new state program. I knew he'd think it was great.
"Did you hear about the new state program to measure effectiveness of
dentists with their young patients?" I said.
"No," he said. He didn't seem too thrilled. "How will they do
that?"
"It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of
cavities each patient has at age 10, 14, and 18 and average that to
determine a
dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated as excellent, good, average,
below
average, and unsatisfactory. That way parents will know which are the
best
dentists. The plan will also encourage the less effective dentists to
get
better," I said. "Poor dentists who don't improve could lose their
licenses to practice."
"That's terrible," he said.
"What? That's not a good attitude," I said. "Don't you think we
should try to improve children's dental health in this state?"
"Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine
who is practicing good dentistry."
"Why not?" I said. "It makes perfect sense to me."
"Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists
don't all work with the same clientele, and that much depends on things
we
can't control? For example, I work in a rural area with a high
percentage of
patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper
middle-class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don't bring
their children to see me until there is some kind of problem, and I
don't
get to do much preventive work. Also, many of the parents I serve let
their kids eat way too much candy from an early age, unlike more
educated
parents who understand the relationship between sugar and decay. To top
it
all off, so many of my clients have well water which is untreated and
has
no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how much difference early use
of
fluoride can make?"
"It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. "I can't believe
that you, my dentist, would be so defensive. After all, you do a great
job, and you needn't fear a little accountability."
I am not being defensive!" he said. "My best patients are as good as
anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count
is
going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose to work
where I am needed most."
"Don't' get touchy," I said.
"Touchy?" he said. His face had turned red, and from the way he was
clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage
his
teeth. "Try furious! In a system like this, I will end up being rated
average, below average, or worse. The few educated patients I have who
see
these ratings may believe this so-called rating is an actual measure of
my
ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I'll be
left
with only the most needy patients. And my cavity average score will get
even worse. On top of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists
and
other excellent dentists to my practice if it is labeled below
average?"
"I think you are overreacting," I said. "'Complaining,
excuse-making and stonewalling won't improve dental health'... I am
quoting
from a leading member of the DOC," I noted.
"What's the DOC?" he asked.
"It's the Dental Oversight Committee," I said, "a group made up
of mostly lay persons to make sure dentistry in this state gets
improved"
"Spare me," he said, "I can't believe this. Reasonable people
won't buy it," he said hopefully.
The program sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you
measure good dentistry?"
"Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes."
"That's too complicated, expensive and time- consuming," I said.
"Cavities are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom
line.
It's an absolute measure."
"That's what I'm afraid my parents and prospective patients will think.
This can't be happening," he said despairingly.
"Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you
some."
"How?" he asked.
If you receive a poor rating, they'll send a dentist who is rated
excellent to help straighten you out," I said brightly.
"You mean," he said, "they'll send a dentist with a wealthy
clientele to show me how to work on severe juvenile dental problems
with
which I have probably had much more experience? BIG HELP!"
"There you go again," I said. "You aren't acting professionally
at all."
"You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading
schools and teachers on an average score made on a test of children's
progress with no regard to influences outside the school, the home, the
community served and stuff like that. Why would they do something so
unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools."
I just shook my head sadly, but he had brightened. "I'm going to write
my
representatives and senators," he said. "I'll use the school analogy.
Surely they will see the point."
He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed
anger
that I, a teacher, see in the mirror so often lately.
If you don't understand why educators resent the recent federal NO
CHILD
LEFT BEHIND ACT, this may help. If you do understand, you'll enjoy this
analogy, which was forwarded by John S. Taylor, Superintendent of
Schools
for the Lancaster County, PA, School District
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