Heather Simmons: Insulting to think teachers aren’t checking student progress

Re “Enough testing, teachers protest” (​Page A1, March 6): I’ll start with the first words that came to mind as I read Modesto City Schools administrator Ginger Johnson’s response to the K-1 teachers: condescending, arrogant, insulting, patronizing and predictable.

I named just a few as I know administrators stop listening to teachers the moment they start talking. Your condescension continued in saying, “Constantly checking kids’ progress has not yet become routine.” To insinuate that teachers need error-filled tests to routinely check students’ progress is insulting.

You told The Bee, “Tracking what young students know is far more detailed and demanding today. When I taught first grade, I put a smiley face on the journal.”

Today’s teachers are skilled, experienced professionals; they don’t need a patronizing explanation of how to assess students. You asked the question, “Why wait to end of the year to see if a child didn’t make it?” That illuminates a complete misunderstanding of what teachers do. Frankly, it’s a large part of the problem.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Heather Simmons: Insulting to think teachers aren’t checking student progress."