Whether you loved it or hated it, last night’s
keynote address delivered by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie brought the
issue of evaluating teacher performance to the national spotlight.
If you’re from the Garden State, have relatives there, or have been following the debate over reforming tenure and revamping teacher evaluation systems to be based partially on the performance of students, then Gov. Christie’s comments will not have come as a surprise. For some time, Gov. Christie has been engulfed in public feud with the NJ teachers union as his speech last night highlighted:
They said it was impossible to speak the truth to the teachers union. They were just too powerful. Real teacher tenure reform that demands accountability and ends the guarantee of a job for life regardless of performance would never happen.
This summer, the New Jersey legislature passed and Gov. Christie signed into law a bill which rethinks teacher evaluation systems. While much has been written on the subject from bill supporters and critics, the underlying issue of reforming evaluation systems is occurring in states across the country, some spurred by the enticement to receive more federal funding (i.e. Race to the Top) or waivers from some of NCLB’s most controversial requirements (i.e. all students making AYP by 2014). Regardless of the motivation, we know that teacher evaluation reform is happening.
President Obama’s administration and Gov. Romney’s position on education support rethinking teacher evaluation systems – embracing linking student achievement to teacher performance. CEC has been working on this issue for some time and in 2010 unveiled a series of recommendations in this area which include not using any one single measure (i.e. test score) for any high stakes personnel decision, including all educators in one evaluation system, doing additional research, and others. CEC is currently developing a position on special education teacher evaluation that will be released this fall. Look for more information from CEC on this issue soon!
With the election season in full swing, tell us your reactions to the keynote address and what is going on in your state regarding changes to teacher evaluation systems.
As a direct result of Race to the Top mandates, TN has adopted a teacher "evaluation" called TEAM/TAP that was developed by the Milken Foundation and marketed by NIET. NIET is the education arm of the foundation founded by convicted Wall St. felon Michael Milken and his brother Lowell. Independent empirical research on efficacy of TEAM is nearly non-existent. The correlational graphs presented in their training manuals have a growth line but no data points.
What is CEC's position on teacher evaluations designed by business people with no knowledge of psychometrics, who stand to profit from public funds, and have no public accountability for falsifying data?
TEAM rates teachers on a 1 to 5 Likert scale. TEAM's average score and the school's mean reading and math SS score on TCAPs or Gateway assessments are the factors computed in the Value added model. After computing VAM estimates, nearly 85% of all teachers in TN will loose their due process rights guaranteed through tenure. The TCAP and Gateway were not designed to measure teacher efficacy. VAM models have high error rates and as such, are being used fraudulently.
What is CEC's position on uses of VAM and test scores to evaluate teachers given the extensive literature against such practices?
What is CEC's position on protecting teacher's rights to due process and tenure being lost due to Race to the Top's poorly conceived model to reform tenure protections and teacher evaluation?
How will teachers advocate for children with disabilities if they are in fear of being fired?
Has CEC evaluated the implications of Race to the Top mandates on teacher churn and stability in the profession?
I can tell you the pall of fear in teachers across the state of TN is real. Special education teachers are finding teachers much less willing to include children with disabilities in their classes due to fears their scores will drop.
What is CEC's position on the segregating effects of Race to the Top on children with disabilities?
Posted by: joan grim | 09/05/2012 at 11:00 AM