Most Important Factor in Student Learning

Back in June I wrote a series of blogs on the Factors that Influence Student Learning, based upon the Education Testing Services’ (the folks who write the tests we use to assess our students) report entitled “Parsing the Achievement Gap II.   Today’s posting is related to one of the findings in that report.  What is the most important factor in student learning?

Many critics of our educational system today proclaim the teacher is the most important factor and a good teacher can and should overcome the negative impacts of social issues that influence student learning.  ETS pointed out that of the sixteen factors it identified as influencing student learning, seven were within the control of schools, one was shared by schools and parents, and eight were outside the control of schools. 

Expecting teachers to overcome the negative influences that are outside their control is irrational.  It is proposed by education reformers, seeking to become the predominant leaders of reform, in order to cast blame upon teachers and reinforce reformers plans to improve education by getting rid of bad teachers.  You know, the teachers who can’t seem to overcome the negative impact of a majority of the factors that influence learning.

In his essay, “Five Lessons to Inform Conversations”, Langley points out :

“…… we should be willing to admit what should already be obvious – learning does not merely take place in the vacuum of classrooms but rather accumulates through the continuous interactions of daily life.  The classroom may be a concentrated effort towards educating, but a life’s education continues beyond the classroom walls so much so that the out-of-school environment proves most responsible for achievement in-school. Unfortunately, some of the current reform dialogue ignores out-of- school factors or even labels such factors as  mere  excuses.  Research, on the other hand, seems  to support acknowledging out-of-school factors and working on out-of-school strategies that could lead to more in-school success”

Langley comes to the same conclusion as ETS, the teacher is the most important “in school factor”, though not the most important overall factor.

(http://langleyeducator.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/3/1/1531550/when_talking_education_april_26_2013.pdf ),