Legislature will consider teacher report cards
I have been working on a column for the AJC’s Monday education page on an effort this upcoming legislative session to formulate a bill creating teacher report cards in Georgia and just chatted with House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, about his interest in the issue.
Along with state Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan, D-Austell, Lindsey visited Colorado recently to meet with the legislator there led a successful effort to pass a teacher effectiveness bill this year.
We talked about a range of education initiatives that Lindsey would like to see this session, including improving the substance of pre-k, reviewing how much testing we do in our schools, enhancing technical education in high school and saving HOPE.
But we talked mostly about whether Georgia was ready and able to rate teachers given the available data and all the controversies about whether such measures are fair:
His reply to my question on whether this was the time for report cards for teachers:
“If not now, when? We now have a situation where 50 percent of low-income students who enter ninth grade are not graduating. That is atrocious. We cannot allow demographics to control destiny. You have a wide range of people across the spectrum who believe that — from myself in the Republican category to the Secretary of Education to Alisha Morgan and lots of folks in between.
I am a great believer that given our present state of education nationwide, we need to be trying to figure out ways to move forward. Whether that means the present year or 2012 for all these education initiatives, I am about building coalitions and moving legislation. But I feel strongly that we have to move forward now. The status quo in education is not acceptable.”
Lindsey was not surprised when I predicted strong teacher opposition to public report cards, but said that he wants to hear from teachers.
So, here is your first chance to comment on this possible legislation.
– By Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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304 comments Add your comment
we lost our way
December 28th, 2010
12:58 pm
@ Catlady, I agree 110 %. My daughter teaches school in South Georgia. The stories she tell me about her students and the conditions they live in and how she tries to motivate them to learn on a daily basis. In 2010 we still have kids who only have outside restrooms (outhouse) and are lucky to get one good meal a day! I know Mr. Lindsey can relate to this level of trying to learn and teach in these type of conditions. Yea Really!!!!! I am sure the majority of the lawmakers have looked into this with open eyes????
FoCo Teacher
December 28th, 2010
12:58 pm
Like many of those with whom I teach, I agree with the concept of a teacher report card but worry about the form it will take. As discussed earlier when the topic of merit pay was brought up, any teacher report card has to take more into consideration than simply test scores. At the high school level, not all grades are tested in the four core subjects with EOCTs and there are no EOCTs for elective subjects, even the academic electives such as foreign language.
Therefore, judging all teachers becomes more complicated. If it includes teacher evaluation, that’s fantastic but that evaluation has to be meaningful. I have been observed for my formal year-end evaluation on the day before a holiday break, when my students were taking a test, when we were watching a movie (before anyone comments, part of the AP FL guidelines include viewing of of films in the target language), and the prizewinner; one year, an administrator never observed me at all. When I asked where he had gotten his “ratings” for me, I was told that he had asked students and other teachers how they felt. How is that a meaninful evaluation, or even relevant? Adminstrators have to brush the dust off of their memories of the classroom (if they have any – many spend only a year or two in a classroom before beginning to climb the ladder) and use effective evaluation techniques and procedures.
Mikey D’s criteria seem like a good place to start. While I have little faith, I hope that Rep. Lindsey will read this (or at least members of the staff) and that he will legitimately respond to those who have contacted him.
Just Curious
December 28th, 2010
1:04 pm
Just curious… when the legislature draws up this bill requiring mandatory report cards for teachers — and I’m assuming deserved reward/penalty associated therewith — will they be requiring mandatory report cards for the legislature? If there is a group of people most famous for coming up with “circumstances beyond their control” to explain away their failures, it’s legislators everywhere. Seems kind of an obvious step to take, along the lines of “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” type of accountability. Anyway… just curious.
Greg
December 28th, 2010
1:07 pm
Rich powerful people do not care how the students do and have not since segregation ended in the fifties; rich kids go to private schools. The school boards are nothing more than a vast criminal enterprise where you get elected and then steer every contract to friends and family. Nothing will change as long as we allow young woman to have welfare babies with no since of personnel responsibility and they continue to breed like out of control rabbits with no male support. Make the fathers pay even when they are in jail, make welfare mothers work at the schools for their welfare checks and throw some of the corrupt school board members in jail. Also Perdue is giving millions of Hope money to connected rich kids to attend private colleges, put an end to the travesty as well.
what about
December 28th, 2010
1:07 pm
we start at the school level. The data should include not only the students’ CRCT/EOCT scores (no names attached, of course) but also the indication of their previous grades (CRCT scores, GPA, etc.), the number of absences, the number of referrals due to misbehavior, etc. The data on teachers should include the name of teacher education programs, years of teaching experiences, the list of professional development activities they participated in the last 2-3 years (for which they have earned PLUs), total number of students, the number of special education students (ESOL and others), and the number of support teachers available to them to deal with special needs students. The administrator data should include the types of degrees and the names of institutions they hold, the years of experiences as classroom teachers, as an AP, and as a Principal.
TopSchool
December 28th, 2010
1:13 pm
COMMUNITY WATCH…What will the Governor do with Atlanta Public Schools?
The Atlanta Public Schools administration has made a national mockery out of the entire public system…and they’ve been paid…and no criminal charges?
Pockets filled…with the taxpayer’s money…and justice is served when the ring leader in APS resigns with a smile on her face??
And the legislature and lawmakers want to keep the blinders on your eyes…and off those with their hands in the GOLD DOME.
Keep dancing around the issues right in front of your face.
Until the issues in Atlanta Public Schools are addressed properly…quit wasting our time playing dodge ball and hide and seek.
Billy Richards
December 28th, 2010
1:19 pm
The dentist analogy fits real well here. If children don’t brush their teeth, don’t floss and don’t get help from their parents on the importance of dental health do we then fire the dentist? It works the same way in education. Parents, somewhere, somehow must be held accaountable. Most of my 10th and 11th graders don’t bring pencil and paper to class. Many cannot read or write a complete sentance. I spend at least 5 hours on Sunday night preparing my weekly plans and at least 2 hours at home each night either grading papers or trying to make up a “dog and pony “activity that they might enjoy . Discipline becomes my number one daily activity. They simply don’t care to learn the things the state curriculum dictates they are to learn.
McHatin' it
December 28th, 2010
1:20 pm
Awful idea. And I’m not a teacher. But, I am the parent of a 2nd grader at an excellent APS public school (believe it or not.) And the reason it is excellent is because of the parent involvement/support. Which doesn’t imply that the teachers don’t also deserve part of the credit. But it does imply that they shouldn’t necessarily be blamed for poor student performance. So much of a child’s learning takes place and continues outside of the classroom. Teachers have no control over what takes place after a child leaves school. Bottom line – there is no objective criteria or measurable standard that can be applied across the board…therefore it will be biased towards success for teachers with strong parental support and will punish those without it.
18 years experience
December 28th, 2010
1:23 pm
In the spring of 2011, my name will be the only teacher’s name printed on the CRCT results for the students in my 4th grade classroom. I teach five of these students for only forty minutes each school day (writing/language arts) because they are pulled out for SpED resource classes (reading and math). Again, only my name will be listed on their CRCT scores. I also have ELL, EIP, and SpED co-teachers working with many of my other students. I would like to see the names of all teachers who teach the students printed on the CRCT results… SpED resource teachers, SpED co-teachers in the classrooms, ELL teachers, EIP teachers, etc. I’m just tired of my name being the only one that’s printed. And if it were up to me, I would simplify the number of teachers who are working with my students. Having so many adults coming and going, and having very little, if any, time for collaborative planning, can make for a rather disruptive, watered-down instructional day. But though I am the one who is held accountable, I have no say over any of this.
justbrowsing
December 28th, 2010
1:23 pm
It is an idiotic idea. I would like for Representative Lindley to ensure that I am empowered to teach effectively, grade accurately and honestly with little influence from administrators, and am not held hostage to parents of students who feel you are pushing their child too hard to do things like be prepared for class. Until he can ensure that I have all elements and privileges in place, how can you hold me accountable? Legislators should be held accountable for causes they champion in the House that result in tangible, observable improvements in the communities they serve. This could be done by using a variety of statistics and indicators which can then be used to determine their effectiveness in the Legislature. Maybe there are too many variables that they are just not in control of….sounds familiar, but since they are crafting legislature- craft it for all spheres of government- don’t just stop it at individual teachers.
HS Public Teacher
December 28th, 2010
1:24 pm
Another idiot politican that knows NOTHING about education stepping in to blame teachers – what a shock!
The only thing that will make a difference to improve education in GA? If all teachers grow a back bone, ban together, form a REAL teacher union (whether legal in GA or not, who cares at this point?), and require education reform that WE know works. ALL teachers need to be willing to walk out of their job for the sake of the children and REQUIRE real education reform.
As a teacher of many years, I am sick to death of being the scape goat for education in GA. Might it be the continual budget cut backs? Naw – students don’t need supplies or heat to learn. Could it be the teacher lay offs and furloughs? Naw – students can learn just fine with 50 kids in a room with one adult. Could it be the top heavy administrations in the DOE and every school system? Naw – just ’cause the money goes there doesn’t hurt anything.
Every teacher that I know, without exception, is doing their utmost for the students placed in their classroom. We are forced to juggle everything from lesson plans to students with disabilities to hall/lunch duty to bus duty to club/sports sponsorship to after school tutoring to grading every night and on weekends to ON AND ON. Then, we have to deal with administrators (their gut filled with doughnuts in their plush office), the news, and politicans telling us that WE are the cause of poor education in GA.
I am currently making arrangements to move the heck out of Georgia for this reason. It’ll take me a couple of years for the transition, but I will be VERY happy to get out of this occupation in GA. Any other state cannot be worse that Georgia!
Concerned & Disgusted
December 28th, 2010
1:25 pm
Our schools and students all get report cards. It is a fair assessment to have the same posted on the doors of each teachers room. Georgia has for years now, cheated on state mandated test and teach all year long towards CRCT’s and EOCT. Now, we are looking at phasing out Graduation Test in 2011, curtailing CRCT, can’t help but wonder just how effective they were.
Georgia is already at the bottom of the pole in state rankings with other schools across the nation, and we have to cheat to be at the bottom. We need to get back to the basics of education and cut spending and unwarranted jobs at the state level in efforts to create some type of new learning “re-naming” of good quality education. Extra activities should be just that….”EXTRA”, earn the rights to play anything with good grades and behavior.
Parents must be held to account!! We should have written contracts with all Parents and have Parental Report Cards with fines, probation, or community service. We cannot send our children to school to be “raised”, only educated and it starts with disipline.
justbrowsing
December 28th, 2010
1:28 pm
Cough- Cough- wow I have the chills- perhaps the chalkboard flu is going around….
mike
December 28th, 2010
1:32 pm
Reading through these comments today gives a real indication why the education in this state is always on the bottom when compared to other states. Blaming low income kids, welfare mothers, the teachers and everybody else under the sun and coupled with the fact you citizens of Georgia keep electing the same goobers to run this state. My daughter went to Fulton county schools and then attended two state colleges and has both an undergraduate and master’s in Physics. As active parents in her education from kindercare through high school, there were always good and bad teachers along the way. We got through it all. Most of you people posting here have some of the worst attitudes and poor outlook on life I have ever seen. What I find strange is you keep electing the same morons to office and expect something different to happen.
More Republican Garbage
December 28th, 2010
1:33 pm
And the same old beat keeps going on and on and on – those energizer batteries must really be good. Wake up Legislature – you haven’t come up with a winning idea in 20 years. Pick a different instrument to play because you have worn out the one you are playing.
Sade
December 28th, 2010
1:35 pm
Whenever some “new” program or initiative is proposed my first inclination is to question who will benefit from this program. It’s definitely not the teachers nor the administrators; they will be the ones responsible for the added task of completing this report card. So, who wants this report card and why? My guess is there’s a large amount of money involved and if the continued testing of students is in jeopardy the testing industry has generated another means to keep that cash flowing.
@ d (11:42) mentioned students are not stupid and I agree; most are just lazy, have high absentee rates, and there are far too many with little or no parental support. Teachers have been reported for failure rates that are too high, placed on PDP’s, and sent to special classes to learn how to teach “lazy” students using differentiated instruction. But, for the most part it’s not the teachers, it’s the students who do not want to learn. A 9th grade student once told an entire class “you can’t fail us or you will get fired.” He was not far from the truth. Teachers have been told by administrators to just pass these students and get them “out the door” even though they have an excess of 20 absences a semester. I ask you, how can a student learn the material when they are not in class? Who is to blame? Not the teachers. And yet, you want to grade teachers on their performance when so many issues can not be factored into the equation? How is that possible? How will that be fair?
Dekalbite@what's best for kids
December 28th, 2010
1:39 pm
Your definition of a “bad teacher” is pretty dead on. A math teacher my daughter had in a high school for high achievers met most of that criteria. She sat at her desk and had the students read out of the math book round robin. She called it “spirit reading” – a student would read until the spirit moved him to stop and then the next student would read. She rarely got up to show them how to work a problem. You either got it on your own or you didn’t get it. Denigration of students was her preferred method of discipline. She left the campus for lunch, and often she returned late. The students patiently stood outside her classroom waiting for her since her door was locked. She was out of the school early by 3:15 every day even though the school day was until 4:00. On top of this she was department chair even though the other math teachers didn’t want her in that position. A number of good math teachers left the school. As department head she only taught 3 classes a day.
Guess what – almost all of her students did great in math on the standardized test. Did she teach them? No. They taught themselves. They were the cream of the crop in the county so they could figure it out themselves. I told my daughter it was good practice for college since she was going to get some teachers that expected students to “get it on their own”.
So “bad” teachers can have students who get high scores if they have really talented and hard working students. Conversely, “good” teachers can get students who get “low” scores if they have students that are behind and/or lack the talent and/or motivation to catch up.
BTW: The administration finally got rid of that teacher – they succeeded in getting her moved to a fairly low performing school.
William
December 28th, 2010
1:43 pm
The issue is generally not the teachers but the structure they are required to work in. My wife is a teacher and she is not allowed to punish children who misbehave, she is discouraged from sending home notes and when she does the school does not back her up.
Parents take no responsibility anymore. When I was a child if I came home with a note my parents did not question it and spoke with the teacher to see what could be done. Now when my wife sends home a note the parent calls in to ask why the teacher is a liar.
In an enviroment where acting out is not discouraged, how can you expect better scores? With issue with low income schools is not the teachers, it is the management and no child left behind.
Dr NO
December 28th, 2010
1:45 pm
A ticked off teacher
December 28th, 2010
12:57 pm
Sounds as if you may have forgotten to kiss one or two hineys?
Fedup
December 28th, 2010
1:47 pm
I’m with you this time, Trotter!
Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta)
December 28th, 2010
1:49 pm
In response to a few of the comments here, I actually do read Maureen’s blog and get a great deal out of the comments that are posted here. As I told Maureen earlier today, we are looking at a wide range of education reforms and I would appreciate teacher, parent, student, and other interested parties comments and thoughts on any constructive reform ideas you have on improving education in Georgia. While I have appreciated the thoughts of people across the country, I am most interested in listening to the people most impacted by our Georgia’s education system. You can post your comments here or e mail me at edward.lindsey@house.ga.gov. Also, my capitol office number is 404-656-5024.
Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta)
Georgia House Majority Whip
Retired Educator
December 28th, 2010
1:50 pm
I find it problematic to always hear all these people like Lindsey and others who did not train in any area of education sitting high, looking low, decide what they are going to do to improve education. The variables in educational achievement are broad and far reaching. The first question that comes to mind is WHO IS GOING TO GRADE THESE REPORT CARDS? How do they determine whether a teacher passes or fails?
The trend nationally is to blame teachers for America’s low achievement of children. I fear that with so many other options available now, it is going to be hard to find people willing to subject themselves to the abuse required to be educators. The blame is being misplaced here as the failure of education is not the fault of teachers. I cannot figure out why teachers are being scape goated as they are, but it is not the teachers. If it were that simple, it could be easily corrected. All the variables together determine the success of students. We are about to witness a humongous error that will take a long, long time to correct if we continue down this path.
Are there some ineffective teachers? Of course!!! Is it on the scale being shopped everywhere? Absolutely not. America needs to get it together and stop just looking at the outcome of education in other countries, but at how they achieve their outcomes. Teacher abuse has gotten to be rampant, and that’s a shame.
justbrowsing
December 28th, 2010
1:52 pm
@Dekalbite- I work with teachers like that, but, because they meet all the other criteria on the list- they are misinterpreted as being effective. Converesely, there are teachers who are effective in the classroom, yet administrative subjectivity seems to bear heavily in their assessments of these teachers performance. Some will refuse to give credit to an effective teacher and will even LIE about it. How would Representative Lindley handle those scenarios? Has he taken the time to examine the administrators in the schools? While not all schools have poor administrators, I think he would be shocked at the practices of a great majority of them.
Grady Gram no more
December 28th, 2010
1:52 pm
Y’all are beating a dead horse. The whole dumbing down of our educational system has been deliberate and systematic, and there is little you can do about it. A dumbed down society is easily led by TPTB. They do not want an educated, highly litereate nation. My advice is to cover your own butt, live within your means, and be prepared for anything.
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Dr NO
December 28th, 2010
2:01 pm
Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta)…thank you for those kind yet ineffective words. I find they are about a useful as flatulence in a hurricane. Nevertheless keep up the good work and you folks under the gold dome be sure to vote yourselves in a hefty pay increase next time the situation arises.
PS…do any of you have a clue?
Dr NO
December 28th, 2010
2:01 pm
PSS…Respectfully and sincerely yours, Dr NO!
HS Math Teacher
December 28th, 2010
2:03 pm
I’m sick & tired of the “experts”, policy makers, and legislators all wanting to get under the hood of education with their Swiss army knives, and thing-a-ma-jigger tools, backed with ideas that sound good at the top, but will be a flop once implemented.
It seems the focus always ends up at the high school level. The constant turning of the screws to high school teachers, who year after year take ill-prepared (YES – SOCIALLY PROMOTED) kids and try to make something of them. It’s hard to make a twisted tree straight, once it is almost mature. This analogy relates to academic performance and behavior. In the larger sphere, your school is being run with a skeletal staff, and getting by on breath & a prayer. Do most people realize all the education improvement initiatives that are already in place???!!! Enough of the damned tinkering!!!
Empower principals to be true MANAGERS. The principal should know who the good and bad teachers are. They should best know the conditions that each teacher works under. If they don’t, they need to get their bow-tied butts in the classrooms. How about giving principals report cards? List for each the ratio of students under their supervision who were failed by the teachers, who failed the CRCTs, but were allowed to “escape” up to the next grade level.
Retired Educator
December 28th, 2010
2:03 pm
If you look at what happened to many Cobb and Gwinnett and perhaps other districts’ teachers where they cut these people off at the knees JUST FOR BUDGETARY REASONS by evaluating them UNSATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE, knowing that this would ruin their careers, however will you be able to trust that you will get a fair evaluation on these bogus report cards? There is not one faction of our society now that can be trusted to be fair and do the right thing. Everyone has their own agenda and be damned how they reach it.
I strongly suggest that ANYONE considering education as a career to STIFLE THE THOUGHT. Choose another occupation. What you go through in education today is 100% not worth it. Don’t even go there young people. Also, you can NEVER trust Republicans to do the right thing. They will slit your throat and swear you did it yourself.
Dr NO
December 28th, 2010
2:04 pm
“I’m sick & tired of the “experts”, policy makers, and legislators all wanting to get under the hood of education with their Swiss army knives, and thing-a-ma-jigger tools, backed with ideas that sound good at the top, but will be a flop once implemented.”
Sounds like a page torn from Obamas playbook.
Dr. John Trotter
December 28th, 2010
2:11 pm
Dr. No, I couldn’t have been more eloquent. Big Dennis, MACE Stalwart, and I are headed for a late lunch. You guys hold the fort down, OK? I’ve only gained about five pounds during these holidays! Ouch!
Dr NO
December 28th, 2010
2:14 pm
TY Dr John…Im just here acting as a humble servant.
Retired Educator
December 28th, 2010
2:15 pm
My advice to those of you who are young in education, especially if you don’t have tenure and especially if you hold advance degrees where you would command a higher salary, (which once was a source of pride for any district), GET OUT NOW!!! They are going to screw you over and mess up your life and the lives of your families. You will never be secure in your job, which everyone deserves a degree of, no matter your profession. You deserve better and you will save yourself a life of undue stress and pressure. Anyone who really wants their kids educated, let them find a way.
This is such a growing mess that even the concept of education tastes bad. Don’t hang around and wait for them to mess you over. GET OUT!
Fled
December 28th, 2010
2:15 pm
Had enough yet, teachers? If not, when will you have enough? I can tell you from my experience that there are places in the world that will welcome you with open arms, pay you well, and respect you. Teaching is still teaching, so it remains a difficult job, However, I spend Christmas evening enjoying a five-course French meal in a five-star hotel with several of my colleagues and their families,
We ain’t never coming back. I can’t believe you all continue to let doofuses (doofi?) like this republican say and do stupid things, and all you do is take it.
It’s your choice. I know that my organization is looking for teachers for next year–or would you rather continue to be minimized and made to look like fools.
We all know that repubs hate public education, at least the type y’all have in Georgia. My God, what might happen if all “those people” learned how to think for themselves? Can’t have that, can we?
Give up. Quit. Leave. Throw in the towel. Education in Georgia sucks, and it’s going to such a lot more real soon.
It’s up to you.
rushhour2
December 28th, 2010
2:23 pm
Legislature, show us YOUR report cards! I almost threw up when I read this!!
Georgia Teachers, it’s time for you to organize! Stop this nonsense!
Maureen Downey
December 28th, 2010
2:25 pm
To all, It is pretty clear that teacher report cards/evaluations are coming and that they will be made public one way or the other. This is not limited to Georgia. It will eventually be the norm everywhere. I think teachers ought to recognize that political reality and start trying to shape the discussion. Clearly, there is no perfect way to do this, but there are better ways. And that’s where I would put my energy as a profession — how can this be done in the fairest way possible? Fled, I am not sure how many teachers want to pick up and move to Dubai. They are going to have to make their stand here.
Maureen
Catlady speaks the truth!
December 28th, 2010
2:25 pm
While teacher accountability is a good idea, the whole ‘report card’ thing is nothing more than a political gimmick that will do little to improve the education of our children.
School administrators spend a considerable amount of time and energy monitoring and managing the performance of their teachers. Will these folks in the Georgia legislature do a better job? I would seriously doubt it.
Let school leaders do their job, and reward/punish the school leaders if their school wins or loses.
As a parent, with children enrolled in public school, I don’t have any choice about what teachers my children have.
If this silly political gimmick comes to pass, and we have teacher report cards, what’s the point?
If I learn that there are three science teachers at my child’s school, and two of them were rated B- and one was rated C+, what exactly does that mean to me as a parent? Zero, Zilch, Nada. And, as a parent, you cannot choose which teachers your child has, the school does that. And if the C+ teacher has half of his students who are just leaning English, who is really the better teacher?
My suspicion is that this ‘report card’ nonsense is just part of a push to make regular public-funded schools look bad, as an excuse to denying them proper funding, while promoting Charter Schools.
Retired Educator
December 28th, 2010
2:25 pm
@Dr No, Stop the drama, for God’s sake. Obama has been president less than two years. Inferior Education in America is much older than that. A big part of the problem is NCLB which was a Bush initiative. It has been one of the most crippling things to happen to education, not to mention the financial stress placed on states because the rethugs never funded it. So stop with the Obama drama and try being honest for once.
Maureen Downey
December 28th, 2010
2:26 pm
@rushour, I suspect legislators would reply that their day of reckoning is election day when voters have the opportunity to vote them out of a job. (By the way, there are several groups that do rank legislators, including the NRA.)
Maureen
cricket
December 28th, 2010
2:27 pm
@Fled – where are you and what do you do?
Retired Educator
December 28th, 2010
2:31 pm
@Maureen!!! SHAPE THE DISCUSSION? Is that what you said? Help me to stop laughing.
Teachers, if you can’t pick up and go, GET OUT OF THE PROFESSION. Like Maureen said, IT’S COMING, like it or not. One thing you can be absolutely sure of is that it will NOT be fair. They are looking for ways to screw you over, so get out. There is no solution because no one has yet acknowledged the problem. You can’t put the cart before the horse. I continue to say…GET OUT!!!
Concerned parent
December 28th, 2010
2:33 pm
I am not an educator and certainly don’t begin to think that I have answers for how to better educate our children. But, it seems in all professions we have evaluations and decisions regarding compensation and continuation of employment may be made on these criteria. I cannot understand why teachers should be exempt from this. I agree, there are so many factors that contribute to the success of students, and certainly teachers should not be held solely accountable for the success and failure of an individual student, but if you provide evaluation guidelines which provide the framework for teachers to set their yearly goals within these guidelines, and which allow both administrators and peers to evaluate each others performance (as these folks should know the challenges a particular teachers faces and could be selected by both the teacher and the administration to ensure a fair picture is compiled), surely a meaningful evaluation would result(and I agree 100% that administrators should be evaluated similarly, both by their superiors and their staff — in all 360 evaluations there are generally a number of inputs to ensure that no one can “cheat” the system). Using set scores or criteria, raises could be determined as could remediation and discipline (anyone who has ever been in a school, either as a student or parent, can identify ineffective teachers who are protected either due to tenure or relationships, and these folks should be easy to route out — 2 years of a score of x or lower and you’re gone, especially if you were provided training or other opportunitites to improve those areas where you haven’t been successful).
teacher
December 28th, 2010
2:34 pm
This is so typical. Our state gov’t. has no clue what is going on . Since Georgia won monies for the Race to the Top, teacher evaluations are about to change in major ways. Please keep up. You are supposed to know what is going on.
And while we are doing report cards, I would like to give the following people F’s -Tommy Irvin, Gov. Perdue and the entire black caucus.
quit stirring the pot
December 28th, 2010
2:35 pm
I would like to see Smug Maureen try to teach school for a day in a tough school system.
TeacherParent
December 28th, 2010
2:35 pm
Hey, Fled! Give us more details!
HS Math Teacher
December 28th, 2010
2:37 pm
Obama’s playbook? Aren’t Democrats usually the ones who like to TINKER with government programs and chase after theories that don’t work? You must be the court jester on this blog. Ease up on the booze, bud.
Arch Dawg
December 28th, 2010
2:39 pm
The Government spends Billions every year on Federal Administrators, Policy Wonks, Testing Agencies,and Beauracrats. Every State spends Millions on State level Administrators, Policy Wonks, Testing Agencies, Lobbyists, and Beauracrats. Each County spends Millions on Administrators, Policy Wonks, Required Testing, Lobbyists, and Beauracrats. Fulton County has 1 Administator for every 4 teachers.
Yet somehow the problem is all because of bad teachers? This is like a massive army blaming it’s failures on it’s soldiers who can’t function under the weight of the Beauracracy. The US spends more money on Education per child than almost all countries. But very little of that money actually makes it to the classroom. Teachers often resort to buying hundreds of dollars worth of basic supplies for their students out of their won pockets. Meanwhile folks like Beverly Hall are pocketing large salaries while committing fraud.
Toto: speakin' the truth to power
December 28th, 2010
2:42 pm
Compulsory education has always been unconstitutional. It violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. We turned our hard-won freedoms back over to the government because of selfishness, laziness, and lack of self-control. Our education system has been on the decline ever since. We have become enslaved to national debt to fund this boondoggle and dumbed down to receive the politically correct answers which perpetuate our bondage. The banksters now own the government which dictates our children’s education. They have already taken over curriculum through control of assessments, and now the final snare is total control of the teachers. Resist! Remove the state compulsory education amendment and start over. Clean house on corruption!
urright
December 28th, 2010
2:44 pm
I think the leg. should first pass a law establishing an unbaised report card on themselves. Not one based on liberal, conservative or democract republican.Next, someone should establish a report card on parents. Then and only then would I be in favor of a report card on teachers. Should teachers be held accountable. HELL YES. However, so should should everyone else.
Let's Clarify
December 28th, 2010
2:46 pm
Teacher Report Cards are a political gimmick like putting the photographs of those men visiting prostitutes in the local paper. It is, supposedly, a way to shame and coerce teachers to work harder.
There are good teachers, there are rookie teachers, and there are some real idiots, and some burned-out teachers who used to be good.
These teachers are rated and evaluated by their administrators, by parents, by their peers every day.
Putting their name in the paper won’t turn idiots into rocket-scientists, nor will it refresh the spirits of the burned-out teachers.
Those who need report cards are the school officials: the principals, the superintendents, the school boards, and the legislators. The teachers are the foot soldiers; do not hold them accountable for the war crimes of their leaders.