I've been applying for teaching positions and several districts require an on-line 'personality survey' done by the Gallup company. It was introduced in a way that made me think it was going to spit out teacher-types like 'strict disciplinarian', 'fun-loving entertainer, 'nurturing empath', etc. After visiting the Gallup website the reality is that it spits out probable personality traits and a numerical score based on how successful Gallup thinks you'll be as a teacher. They figure this by interviewing 'successful' teachers (no mention is made of how one is deemed successful) and then comparing your answers to their answers. Please note, these are not scenarios that test teacher judgement. They are things like 'I started thinking about becoming a teacher a) when i was young, b) in college, c) when I experienced some teaching scenarios d) i have always wanted to be a teacher. Is it fair to use this test as a primary screening method? is this test being used across the US?
2007-01-21 12:24:58 · 6 answers · asked by crow_326 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Teaching
Re: the validity. I took this test twice (it lets you retake it which makes no sense) and I made no attempt to 'beat the test' yet still my answers were about 15% different. (many of the answers overlap like a) i a a positive person, b) i am more positive that others i know etc. Doesn't that mean my score on any given day might be an impressive 85% or a mediocre 70%?
Also, administrators, we teacher-wannabes go to school for years, starve to death student teaching for no pay, spend weeks putting together our certification portfolio and documents and perfect our resumes. would it KILL you to at least read our resumes (or have your secretaries read them) instead of excluding us based upon a number score? (Gallup does make test answers available to admin on request, but like credit card companies, whose going to read the whole report when a neat little number is provided?)
2007-01-21 12:32:04 · update #1
Apologies for the typos. I am just upset that my great grades/experience/reccomendation letters/praxis test scores/desire to teach/etc. might not be enough to get me a interview.
2007-01-21 12:35:53 · update #2
It's getting harder and harder to get in the field of teaching. With all that go in g on in the world today I guess it's needed. I have had some wonderful student teachers .
2007-01-21 12:32:20 · answer #1 · answered by Sugar 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd get used to it. As a teacher you will be subjecting students to mandatory tests. Schools rely on arbitrary screening tests for children starting in the first grade. Several groups have argued that the mandatory testing is unfair because it relies on social norms that don't exist for all groups of people...like psychological screenings that grade a child on where they would keep their shoes.
I'd imagine that there are even more bizarre tests going on across the country for teachers. The argument about whether or not it is fair you could ask, but I think that most schools retain the right to use strategies to screen teachers outside of race and religion.
It might also be a good experience, you say your typos are caused by the stress of none of your experience being taken into account, just the scores from one test. Many children feel that way when they've done well the entire semester and then have trouble taking tests, and fail the class.
2007-01-21 13:01:05 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gallup Teacher Insight
2016-09-30 00:52:36 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is the first time I've heard of it. No, it isn't fair any more than any other standardize test that is made up by people who haven't taught before or for a very long time. It's know surprise, though. Many districts are "anti teacher." The teacher is the one to blame and is the one targeted for everything that is wrong with a district. It would be interesting to see someone challenge it in court. Where's the ACLU?
2007-01-21 12:34:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its pretty consistant with rasmussen, Obama is between 50-52 and McCain is somewhere between 42-45 over the past few days which is pretty consistant with other polls that have been using smaller samples, so yes overall I think their both pretty accurate. McCain might be a little bit underpolled in these, but still not too far off considering the margin of error. Right now, Obama is right around 50 or 51 percent if the election happens today. McCain is right around 45. Then the remaining votes split in this manner: 1. Dont votes, this alters the overall for both, raising both men. Obama would now be around 52 and mccain is probably around 46 2. Vote 3rd party - doubt you will see much of this, a point or two at the most. 3. Vote Obama / McCain - Currently obama has seemed to have a slight edge with undecideds so he probably ends up around 53is and mccain is around 47ish.
2016-03-14 21:45:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can understand your frustration...it is so difficult to obtain a teaching job these days.
I would suggest that you substitute teach if you don't get a job after graduation, it is the best way to get inside a school and get known. They will see what you can do firsthand, which is much better than anything written on a piece of paper.
My school does not use this screening method, but I do know that whenever we have openings, there are at least 100 applicants per position.
2007-01-21 12:38:51 · answer #6 · answered by kiki 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they want to find a perfect personality for teachers which is impossible to find...i took that poll...don't remember the score, but surely they won't go ahead and interview you. those polls i think are more or less to make sure you do actually care about students and teaching. i wouldn't worry about it
2007-01-21 12:46:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋