Defining Success
- Oct 16, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 9, 2023
When I applied to Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms in March 2019 as a new instructional coach and aspiring school administrator, I reflected in my application on my hopes for students in the classrooms I supported that they would be reflective and curious about the world around them, and I hoped my experience with Fulbright would allow me to support facilitation of this at a systemic level in my school. Since that time and during my transition from teacher to instructional coach to administrator, I have reflected significantly on the structures that need to be in place for this to occur, and my year of professional development through Fulbright significantly impacted these reflections.
A monumental pillar of our learning during the field exchange experience is exploring a research question throughout our two weeks abroad. When I began thinking theoretically about what my research question would be during the 2019-2020 school year, I pondered over what originally interested me in the Fulbright TGC program - what aspects of education systems in other countries are similar and different to the United States, what do we have to learn from one another, and how we bring those learnings into classrooms for students. At the Global Education Symposium, I brainstormed with my principal and other educators in my cohort about possibilities of what to research. I considered various topics that reflect what I am most frequently challenged by when teaching and supporting students and teachers, such as:
What are the best ways to engage all students?
How do we increase authentic dialogue and collaboration between students?
How are the arts integrated in curriculum?
What are best strategies to systemically support multilingual students?
How do we make learning relevant for all students?
What are ways to ensure there are no opportunity gaps between different student populations?
What role can Social and Emotional Learning play across the curriculum?
How do we maximize instructional time with students?
I was eager to explore how my wonderings and research on my campuses in the United States would inform my experiences in Colombia, and curious what I could learn from a new country and its educational system. As my perspective on global education grew through Fulbright TGC and my scope and understanding of schools as systems broadened while in administration, I kept coming back to how all of these wonderings and interests stemmed from one hope: ensuring all students experienced holistic and individualized success in school. Because of this, I decided my field experience research question would be:
In Colombia, how do schools define and measure success?
One of my goals during the field experience was to be open to what I don’t know, so though this question is broad, I hoped my previous experiences in schools wouldn’t cloud my perceptions and understandings over what I was researching and exploring. The findings of this question not only made me reflect deeper on the educational system in Colombia, but allowed me to reflect on the systems we have created in the United States as well as in the local contexts I have experienced (the states of Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi; Caddo Parish Public Schools, Austin Independent School District, and Jackson Public Schools; and the individual schools I have worked in and attended).
Throughout our visits to (private and public) primary and secondary schools and universities, as well as conversations and panels with the embassy, educational officials, teachers, and students in Bogotá, we learned how though there is a national suggested curriculum, every school has its own methodologies. Education is not centralized and local education has autonomy. Bogotá, for instance, has 400 schools with many different contexts (such as varying resources, urban schools that share spaces, rural campuses with differing school hours, etc.), and each school has the freedom to determine their own curriculum and measures of success along the way.
For Colegio Aquileo Parra, success is determined through seeing how student autonomy with SEL, the arts, and STEM impacts the school collectively. We observed student dance and music performances, visited and shopped in their student showcase presenting their STEM projects, learned about their Social and Emotional Learning curriculum through student demonstrations, and witnessed student leadership and technology integration as students livestreamed our visit.
At Colegio la Concepción IED, student success was shared in student leadership and how this supported their community and embraced heritage. We were able to observe the English classes students took, see student musical performances and speeches, teach lessons on cultural interests from the United States and see their enthusiasm, and play volleyball with students and staff.
For Manuela Ayala Secondary School, students demonstrated success through embracing inclusive practices, honoring heritage, and celebrating and working in nature and their environment. Students performed cultural dances for us, we visited classrooms and saw the high standards set for students, and we enjoyed a meal with student leaders.
At Ramón de Zubiría Megacolegio, we witnessed how staff strives to empower students to be successful in public speaking, leadership, and valuing community as family. We were a part of their Independence Day celebration where we saw presentations about the Colombian flag and history, sat in on classes, were interviewed by their student news team, and saw how they adapted their school schedule to best support students.
Though visits were less than a day long, we felt so immersed in the schools because of the ways that students, teachers, administrators, families, and staff welcomed us and showed us what they were most proud of and how they were supporting students. With every visit to a school, I thought I then “understood” education in Colombia and how success was determined. However, with each visit, I also felt that at the same time my calibration became further off. Because as we got further into understanding Colombian culture, we saw the various ways that this was displayed in schools and how local education contexts were responsive to their environments.
Local education agencies or schools also determine their own quantitative ways to determine and measure success. Our host teacher shared that on her campus, their grades are based on 20% social skills (which is negotiated with the student) 10% personal development, and 70% academic, and that this framework is fairly common amongst schools.
While seeing and experiencing the beauty of developing your own curriculum and measures of success at the local level, we also learned about the measures of success that the state determines, which is minimal. In 11th grade, students take a standardized test covering all subject areas called the “Saber 11 ”, which is similar to the ACT or SAT and determines their options for university. The test is two 4.5 hour sessions that occur on the same day and assess critical reading, science, social studies, mathematics, and English across nearly 300 questions. One Colombian educator reflected that with the current system and lack of support or alignment, “teachers are teaching skills, but not competencies”.
We learned in our panel with teachers and recently graduated students as well as during our school site visits that this test is extremely stressful and high-stakes. Two students shared that at their school, results were posted on the wall and there were special announcements of those who passed. Currently 45% of students in Colombia attend university, showing that they passed the Saber 11 assessments. The majority of students who perform highly on Saber 11 and attend university attended private schools in lieu of public school. Similarly, 60% of students from the highest income bracket scored high enough on the Saber 11 test, while 25% of the lowest income bracket did. The recently graduated students shared with us that those who do not have parents who have gone to university often do not know how to support their children to do so, leading to predictive pattern of who attends university. This very much resembled cycles that are present in the United States.
Since the majority of schools and local agencies are autonomous, apart from the Saber 11 test there are no national or district (state) assessments students take periodically. One of the days we were in Bogotá, we participated in one of the many incredibly informative learning experiences with a panel of officials from the Ministry of Education, Bilingualism Department, the U.S. Embassy, and rural education and educational technology leaders. I asked the question, “I appreciate the autonomy that is promoted here and we have gotten to see how that has led to beautiful things, though I wonder where accountability comes in. How are local education agencies supported if they are undeserving kids, and how are great things celebrated and replicated in schools where students are succeeding?” The ministry and bilingualism officials answered vaguely about local support and professional development, which teachers on the panel pushed back on. Following, our host teacher told me, “Sam, your question shook them. I could tell. Because the answer is they do nothing.”
As someone who thinks the United States (and specifically Texas) does standardized testing inefficiently and incorrectly, it was interesting to wrestle with the idea of true accountability and its purpose. In Texas, I believe we are asking an assessment to do way more than it is meant to do, and it has not led to closing opportunity gaps or addressing true systemic issues (...resisting stepping on to my soap box…). It caused me to reflect on how accountability requires a relationship, and success involves both local measures that give back to your community as well as broader ones that ensure students can achieve what they are passionate about. In Colombia, we saw how students are measured by local metrics that waver as they grow up, and then are often shocked when they graduate that they are not “up to par”. Public education is frequently under fire and criticized in the United States, and it was interesting to see how often teachers and programs in Colombia compared themselves or aspired to be more like American education. There is a huge push for multilingualism, and specifically, English acquisition, which is noted as it is a subject tested on the Saber 11.
There are certainly hindrances to creating successful and equitable systems for students in Colombia. Perhaps the most recognizable one was the class sizes we saw, where most classrooms (that were about 25’ x’ 25 ft.) had 40-50 students in them. The length of the school day was also a stark difference. Students typically attend school from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Some buildings house more than once school (in the morning and afternoon) because the infrastructure doesn’t support the amount of schools needed. Our group of teachers reflected with local teachers who shared that the shortened school day leads to students having multiple different experiences outside of school depending on their family’s financial situation and community support. As mentioned previously, there is a performance difference between students attending private vs. public schools. As we hear several times throughout our trip, there were various differences between funding and resources for private and public schools. Students and teachers provided examples of private schools having additional funding for resources such as books, technology, and toilet paper, in addition to not having to share space with others.
Much like the United States, there are many community programs that supplement the work schools are doing that also attribute to students’ success, such as recreational activities and classes through compensation funding programs such as Compensar, educational technology companies supported by the Ministry of Education such as Computadores Para Educar, or afterschool programs such as Access or MLK English Language Fellowship supported through the U.S. Embassy (Access is a two year program is in 24 countries. It supports 2,000 kids in 16 cities mostly from at-risk communities. MLK Fellows Program supports Afro-Colombian and Indiginous students. It is currently supporting nearly 700 students. College Horizons Outreach Program has supported 300 students to expand their higher education possibilities. As a side note - this is a great use of U.S. tax dollars!).
Colombia is an incredible country and one that has a rich, yet complicated history. Schools, communities, and educators have embraced their community and sought for ways to grow and support students. There is now a set pay scale for teachers that they can get raises based on degrees or taking additional certification tests, when before salaries were very stagnant. In 1985, 65.5% of students were enrolled in primary school, and now 90% of students are. The illiteracy rate in Colombia was 6.2% in 2010 and decreased to 5.8% in 2014 and 4.75% in 2019. Like everywhere, success is a work in progress, and it was exciting to hear about the successes schools shared and the growth of the country overall.
My question, "In Colombia, how do schools determine and measure success?" opened doors for curiosity and research that I wasn't expecting and allowed me to delve in to the complicated, difficult, and hopeful education system in the country. By visiting schools, talking with students, listening to panels, and learning from teachers, I was able to see how schools, even when provided with little resources or support, define success based on what they value. And seeing the way educators and students valued learning, community, and their heritage was an enriching thing to witness.
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