Prospect of teacher ratings sparks debate, criticisms
Since teacher ratings are of such great interest on the blog, I wanted to share part of an e-mail from a teacher to me and the legislators considering this idea, state Rep. Edward Lindsey’s response to the e-mail and then the letter that New York Chancellor Joel Klein wrote to his teachers explaining why he agreed to release effectiveness ratings there once the courts cleared the way.
I think all three give a pretty good summary of the pros and cons of this highly explosive issue. I think it is fair to say from the hundreds of response to the blog and personal e-mails to me that this is not an idea that Georgia teachers will easily endorse.
And teachers have not done so in Los Angeles where the LA Times released teacher ratings this summer that led to protests in the streets. Teachers are fighting release of similar effectiveness rankings in New York where the media want to see them and the school system wants to provide them under the rationale that parents deserve more information about their children’s teachers.
First, the e-mail from the outraged teacher, who also posted to the blog in shorter form:
This is one of the most ridiculous and insulting ideas in a long line of such that I have come to expect from this country’s politicians and put forth with some measure of support by the less-than-critical news media. I would suggest that this announcement smacks more of political grandstanding than of any substantive desire to improve our abysmal education ranking and that the AJC gives every appearance of serving as the mouthpiece.
As noted in my entry to the blog, teachers have long been subject to annual performance evaluations. Therefore, all your proposal would accomplish is to make these evaluations a matter of public knowledge, unless you intend to add yet another evaluation into the mix. What can possibly be gained by doing such a thing, other than spending taxpayer dollars to study how best to evaluate/report and develop a means of doing so? Will your proposal provide for the means for parents to request the “passing grade” teachers for their children? Will your proposal provide for the means of improvement of the “failing grade” teachers? Will your proposal provide a quantitative and verifiable means to help the students of this state? If not, then of what value is the public report card? If someone with less than stellar performance has remained on the job year in and year out, that is hardly their “fault.”
I would suggest that the one(s) not actually performing the duties of a job would be the administrator(s) incorrectly administering the evaluation instrument or following through with steps to negate the unsatisfactory results. Will your proposal provide for releasing the information contained within the performance evaluations in all prior years of the teacher’s employment so as to explain why someone with such a record has continued in the position
Does not the release of such information constitute a violation of privacy in some form or another as related to employment (public release of private evaluation information, for example)? So many lawsuits have been filed against former employers for giving bad references that few are now willing to say more than that an applicant was employed at the business during a specific time period. Yet the state of Georgia is now planning to release possibly detrimental data to the general public regarding its employees? Do you not feel that you will be exposing the taxpayers of this state as well as of the employing county to lawsuits by publishing such information?
Have you entered into any dialogue at all with the Georgia Department of Education on this topic? After all, is it not the purpose of that body to oversee matters of education in the state of Georgia? If, however, the legislature is now to address these issues, should not the DOE be disbanded? There would seem to be no reason to have such a department when the legislature will be addressing matters of education. Would not such a move serve to address some of the budget shortfall we are now facing in Georgia? Think of the money that could be saved by getting rid of unnecessary employees (all of them, apparently) in that department.
Surely, surely in these lean budget times there are more pressing issues of time and money that the lawmakers of this state should be addressing other than teacher report cards. However, if you feel that this is indeed a worthy pursuit, then I, as a taxpaying citizen of the state of Georgia, would ask that you also push for public report cards for members of the medical profession, the local police and fire forces, our county and city commissioners, any and all other individuals who are paid by local and state governments (including lawmakers in the state house, their staffs, employees of the governor’s office, local school boards, school administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, secretaries, para-pros, coaches, etc., and every single person affiliated in any way with the Georgia Department of Education, elected or otherwise). As all of these people are paid in one way or another by taxpayer dollars (through mandated health care or checks from some level of government), I feel that we taxpayers are “entitled” to see the rating of each of these employees as well.
Do you not feel that citizens of this state have a right to see a report card on every government employee (including yourself) in this state, not just the teachers? Or, perhaps, have you come to understand that the state of Georgia really does have more important matters to address than those which already have a means of correction in place?
And Rep. Lindsey replied:
You have given me quite a stream of consciousness to consider. As I discussed with Ms. Downey, the teacher report card is one of many reforms being seriously studied and should not be viewed in isolation. We need to look at many areas of education including the curriculum in the pre K program, the number of standardized test being given, improving teacher quality, enhancing parental involvement, the high school graduation rates, the technical school program, and the hope scholarship. There is no one single bullet here and all issues need to be on the table.
I also emphasized to Ms. Downey the importance of teacher input on any reforms being advanced. That is what I am doing here now. The one thing that I will not accept is that the status quo is acceptable. My constituents in general and our next generation in particular deserve better. I believe I clearly know where you stand on teacher report cards; however, I also note from your e mail that you did not offer any constructive reforms that you believe would help move the ball forward. I look forward to hearing from you again with any such ideas.
And here is NY Chancellor Joel Klein’s letter to his teachers on why he agreed to release effectiveness ratings, pending the outcome of a court challenge by New York’s teacher union. The court has not ruled yet on the release:
Dear Colleagues,
As you have likely heard or read, several media outlets recently issued Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests to the City, requiring the Department to share the Teacher Data Reports we provide schools and teachers in grades 4 through 8 each year. These reports use a method called “value-added data” that seeks to predict student performance based on factors outside of a teacher’s control (high levels of poverty, for example), and then determines whether a given teacher’s students exceeded or fell short of these predicted examination scores (teachers may always access their reports at http://schools.nyc.gov/Teachers/TeacherDevelopment/TeacherDataToolkit/GetYourReports/default.htm).By controlling for factors beyond a teacher’s control, it is the fairest system-wide way we have to assess the real impact of teachers on student learning. And while the City’s particular value-add method is not etched in stone, this is why the State passed legislation this spring, endorsed by the teachers’ unions, committing to using value-added data for all teachers. It is also why value-added data is increasingly being used throughout the nation as part of a comprehensive system of teacher evaluation.
In the past we have provided the numeric value-added data to the press with no indication of the identity of individual teachers. I am writing to you today because media outlets, prompted by similar data being published by the Los Angeles Times, have requested the names of individual teachers, not just the statistics.
As it is the City’s legal interpretation that we are legally obligated to provide the media this information, it is our intent to provide the data as requested.
In the time since we informed the UFT that we intended to comply with the FOIL request, the union has sued the City to prevent the release, and we have agreed to delay any release until at least November 24, when a court hearing will be held. So no data have yet been released. But I want to make sure that, as you read about these events in the newspapers, you understand the circumstances and you understand my view on the issue overall.
Our most important task is to ensure that every one of our students has a great teacher. It is critical, therefore, that when we have indications of a teacher’s proficiency, we use that indication to do what’s right for kids. One indication will never tell the whole story, and sometimes it is hard to discern definitive evidence from data alone —such as with a teacher who is “average” according to these numbers, for example. But where teachers have performed consistently toward the top or the bottom, year after year, these data surely tell us something very important. Namely, we need to retain and reward the great teachers, and we need to develop the low-performing teachers. And those who don’t improve quickly need to be replaced with better-performing teachers.
Secretary Arne Duncan last week said it best when he said, “I give New York credit for sharing this information with teachers so they can improve and get better.” More than anything, these data demonstrate that we need a better, more comprehensive system of evaluation than the one we have now. That’s why the State legislature and the unions supported an evaluation system that uses value-added data. Now it’s time that the DOE and UFT together build a new system that gives teachers an honest sense of how well they’re doing and how they can improve.
In the end, this is about real people. On one hand, for too long, parents have been left out of the equation, left to pray each year that the teacher greeting their children on the first day of school is truly great, but with no real knowledge of whether that is the case, and with no recourse if it’s not.
But this is also about teachers. They take on the hardest work there is, and they deserve our respect. If anyone sees these data as an opportunity to scapegoat public servants, that is a mistake. Doing what’s right for children means making hard decisions; it has nothing to do with personal attacks.
We’ve made huge strides for our kids over the last eight years. That’s because we’ve been willing to face hard facts. It’s also because we have made kids’ best interests our shared priority. My hope is that we approach this issue with both of those thoughts in mind, ensuring fair treatment for adults, but always keeping children first.
Sincerely,
Joel I. Klein– By Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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264 comments Add your comment
Private School Guy
December 30th, 2010
7:00 pm
First of all teachers do not draw a paycheck from the state they are paid by the local school systems( a portion of the money comes from the state but this complicates the matter). So can the states tell the local systems who needs to be fired? If police officers were rated would the state be able to do the same thing with local cops? What about firemen, road construction crews etc. How would this effects teachers in Georgia’s private schools? They are certified by the state PSC but would not or could not be graded. It looks like the attorneys and professional groups will have a field day with this plan.
Ed Johnson
December 30th, 2010
10:50 pm
@teacherandmon (“BTW – Lindsey and the Morgans will have a conference call today with Sen. Johnson (CO) for ideas about how to get educators on board.”):
Indeed, true to their nature, Lindsey and Morgan are concerned “about how to get educators on board.” Again, http://tinyurl.com/2v3kzs9.
Lindsey’s and Morgan’s behavior is symptomatic of the recurrence of a well-known dynamic: paint some group of people the losers, a source of society’s ills, and the object of contempt and ridicule. Their wanting to get educators on board is the same dynamic as, say, Hitler and the Nazi wanting to “get Jews on board.”
Nonetheless, Lindsey’s and Morgan’s behavior offers teachers the moral high ground. Teachers, take it!!!
ScienceTeacher671
December 30th, 2010
10:53 pm
I still think the biggest problems are social promotion and failure to test students who have been in “tiers” for up to a decade…but I did find data submitted by the GaDOE showing that 2.3% of Georgia teachers in core classes are not “highly qualified”. (Reference, see http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/consolidated/sy08-09part1/ga.pdf starting on page 43.)
A couple of caveats:
(1) These figures only show the number of teachers who aren’t considered “highly qualified”. Many teachers on provisional certificates are counted as “highly qualified” as long as they are working toward full renewable certificates, but they may not have completed all coursework or they may be teaching out of field. So far I haven’t been able to find data to show how many teachers are provisionally certified.
(2) These figures are from 2008-2009 school year, which is before furloughs, paycuts, larger class sizes, and cutting the number of days in the school year. It could be that since so many teachers were let go from some systems, there’s not as much need now to hire unqualified teachers, but I do know that our system has at least math, science, and special ed teachers on provisional certificates.
Some teachers on provisional certificates are great. Others don’t last long. My point is simply that systems are not supposed to hire uncertified teachers if they can find certified teachers, so obviously in Georgia we have a shortage of certified teachers.
If you have a shortage of certified teachers, and you’re worried about the quality of teachers, paycuts and furlough days would seem to be counterproductive, would they not? And what point would “teacher report cards” serve?
Teachers Must Take A Stand
December 31st, 2010
12:38 am
There are several issues that need to be addressed when considering reforms to the educational system in the state of Georgia:
1. There should be mandate set in motion that requires Rep. Lindsey and all members of the state legislature to become substitute teachers for approximately one month before continuing this dialogue on education. They should do so at the elementary, middle, and high schools levels. It has been my experience that one should never make judgments about another unless they’ve walked in that person’s shoes. So, in order to make fair and accurate decisions about the state of education, one should be very familiar with what goes on in the day in the life of a teacher.
2. The bullying mentality levied against teachers needs to stop! When we have continued discourse about illuminating bullying in the schools, that conversation should include teachers as well. So now, it appears that Rep. Lindsey and the state legislature get to join in with school administrator to continue this dreadful reign of bullying against teachers in the state of GA. There are no “true” unions here in our state to protect teachers’ rights. As a result thereof, I have never seen so many unhappy, educated, and brow beaten individuals in my life! I’ve relocated to GA from a state that has a strong union. Teacher morale is much higher where I am from as we felt some level of comfort knowing that our rights were protected. My jaw drops on a continuous basis as I watch administrators throw their weight around by unjustifiably bullying teachers. If you have an opinion, question the status quo or refuse to go along an administrator’s program, you become a target. How productive is that? I believe that happy individuals are more productive, especially when they are treated with respect and dignity, something that is lacking here in GA. You cannot beat productivity out of anyone! A teacher report card will do nothing more than further damage an already fragile teacher morale.
3. All teachers’ voices need to be heard! We are the ones down in the trenches fighting for education and are the true experts when it comes to education. If Rep. Lindsey really wants to see effective educational reform, he needs to push for a united front lead by teachers. That united front should to include all of the stakeholders in education (educators, politicians, school board members, parents, students, local business owners, community groups and leaders, professional organizations, youth organizations, and the media).
4. Teachers need to be provided with the necessary tools/resources that allow them assist student who come to school with an array of social issues/baggage (there are so many children with personal issues). We need to teach the whole child. But, it is quite difficult to do so when we are required to dig through the layers of issues that a child may be experiencing. We should consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs when educating children. Basic needs should be met before we can expect the learning process to begin. These basic needs should be met at home, so parents take responsibility!
.
Finally, a report card for teachers is not the answer to improving education and is utterly ridiculous! I am tired of being a scapegoat for all the ills in education as a result of many circumstances beyond my control! “United we stand, divided we fall!!” We are in crises mode, so let’s all come together and stop the finger pointing.
You've got to be kidding!
December 31st, 2010
6:08 am
@ Teachers Must Take A Stand
December 31st, 2010
12:38 am
You make too much sense. Unfortunately, attitudes are the hardest to change. Most of Georgia’s teachers have been beaten into submission and no one in GA believes me when I tell them it is much better in northern states with unions!
teacher&mom
December 31st, 2010
8:36 am
@Ed Johnson – You are correct. I have found that the moral high road works for me…at least it allows me to sleep at night and hold my head up high the next day without fear of being exposed for “twisting the truth” or stabbing folks in the back.
@ST671 – Isn’t it interesting that the data you seek is either well hidden or nonexistent? Students in a Title I school are supposed to be notified by the school if their classroom teacher is not highly qualified. Parents are given the option of asking for a different teacher. I once got “the letter” about three weeks before the end of the semester.
I propose that every teacher contact their local representative. Sen. Lindsey and the Morgans will need every single vote they can garner for this bill. Divide and conquer.
Educate your representative with information about VAA’s and the data that indicates they are not adequate measures for high-stake decisions (such as a PUBLICIZED teacher report card). Make sure you include your sources.
Point out to your legislature how the educational budget for the past 8 years has affected you and your students. When was the last time you were able to purchase supplemental learning materials? When was the last time the librarian was able to purchase books, DVD’s, etc.? What is the computer/student ratio in your building? Give them numbers and figures. It is hard to argue against the fact that I have six working microscopes for 175 students or my annual budget for lab supplies has been less than $500 for the entire department. Can they support giving our technology teacher a failing grade when she has 28 computers and 35 students in the class?
List the number of teachers in your building that are not highly-qualified. If your school happens to have a large number of alternatively certified teachers who teach for a few years and then leave, make note of that. If your school has seen a high number of early retirements of teachers leaving the profession, tell your representative.
Break down your parent conferences. If you work at a school where parents consistently do not show up for conferences, take the time to compile the data. Better yet, put it in an excel file and create data tables.
I understand that one teacher can not compile all of the above information on his/her own. When you go back to work next week, talk with your fellow teachers, organize, and divide up the tasks. Then gather all the information into a document and send it to your representative. Better yet, invite your representative to lunch in the school cafeteria and give him/her the report.
Think about it.
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
December 31st, 2010
9:15 am
Teachers Must Take a Stand,
In item 1, you mentioned something that triggered a memory. Over 10 years ago, Rep. Ben Harbin of Columbia County sponsored a bill requiring each administrator to spend 5 days per year in the classroom. The measure was later tweaked without Harbin’s knowledge to allow administrators to complete professional development courses in lieu of spending time in the classroom. Two rhetorical questions: (1) Who tweaked the bill? (2) Why was it tweaked? The answers from a retired 31-year teacher: (1) the administrators’ lobbyists and (2) admins who didn’t want to experience the student disrespect, disruption and apathy toward learning which they knew characterized (and still characterizes) too many of our public school classrooms.
By the way, what are GAE and PAGE lobbyists doing to improve learning conditions for students and working conditions for teachers?
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
10:20 am
Teacher&mom, funny you should mention the local representatives. Last year before the beginning of the legislative session, a teacher in a neighboring county organized a forum to discuss furlough issues, etc. with our local representatives. A state senator and 2 representatives were supposed to attend.
There was standing room only, with teachers from 3-4 counties, the superintendents from at least two counties, plus the local media – except that the state senator and one of the representatives didn’t show up!
Warm & fuzzy, eh?
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
December 31st, 2010
11:18 am
ScienceTeacher 671, who was the legislator who did attend? Was he persuaded to work to resolve the issues teachers raised? Also, who were the legislators who didn’t attend? Individual teachers and TEACHER ORGANIZATIONS must support legislators who are sympathetic to improving learning/teaching conditions in GA and must oppose those legislators who are unsympathetic. Let’s start by naming on this blog the two legislators who didn’t show up at the forum mentioned above. Let’s continue by paying membership dues only to those teacher organizations which have demonstrated successes in obtaining better learning and working conditions in our schools. As Zell used to say, “Politics is simple: it’s about what I can do for you and what I can do to you.”
Happy Teacher
December 31st, 2010
11:34 am
Teachers: It’s all parents/administrations fault.
Parents/administration: It’s all teachers fault.
Couldn’t it be that both are right and that we need to start working as a team on this? Teacher report cards won’t be perfect, but they could easily be an exemplar of teamwork at a time when it is desperately needed.
And again, why are so many just willing to give up on “bad kids” and ready to stamp them as impossible to teach? They are the ones that it is MOST important we get through to. They are the ones we cannot give up on, yet so many declare them lost causes too easily.
teacher&mom
December 31st, 2010
11:34 am
@ST671— that is shameful. Their names should be publicized for all the same reasons they claim they have the right to publish our names with a grade beside it.
@Dr. Spinks – excellent advice.
My family visited Colonial Williamsburg a few years ago and this effort is just a modern day version of the public stocks, pillories, and whipping posts. Perhaps it would be cheaper to install public stocks on the courthouse steps and rotate “failing” public servants on display. I say this with a great deal of sarcasm but I swear, I do think there are folks out there who would relish the idea.
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
11:48 am
Dr. Spinks, Rep. Al Williams is the legislator who attended, and seemed sympathetic to the issues raised by the educators and parents who were there. State Senator Earl “Buddy” Carter let organizers know he would not be coming 2-3 hours before the forum was to begin. Representative Ron Stephens was not even that courteous; he just didn’t show up.
http://beta.coastalcourier.com/archives/18765/ Archives telling that the event would occur. I can’t find any of the news articles that appeared after the event, but if you’ll scroll down here, there is a letter to the editor from the event organizer telling about the legislators who did not attend:
http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2010-01-09/letters-editor-saturday
teacher&mom
December 31st, 2010
11:52 am
@Happy Teacher — would you be content to receive a failing score and have that score published? What if you knew the current instrument being used to grade your teaching abilities is known to identify a teacher as superior one year and inferior the next?
Here’s the deal. We need to improve teacher evaluations. No doubt about it. VAA’s have merit because they take into account SES, class size, ESL, etc. However, even the supporters of VAA’s urge caution in using them in high-stakes situations. The data on VAA’s also indicate a minimum of three years of data is needed before assigning a score. Also, the data needs to be from pre-post tests, not once-a-year standardized tests. The CRCT’s and EOCT’s are not designed to support VAA’s.
If the state decides to implement pre/post assessments, the process of developing accurate tests will take a minimum of three or more years. Once VAA’s are implemented there should be at least three years of data collected before assigning the initial assessments to individual teachers. Then, in all fairness, the teachers and administrators should be given a two-three year time period to analyze their VAA’s before anything is released to the public. You are looking at a 10-year implementation period to develop a strong, better evaluation tool. Publishing scores too early in the process will not benefit anyone.
Please stop with the teacher vs parent soapbox. It isn’t all the parents’ fault. I don’t ride that bandwagon. It is non-productive. I do wish we would spend more time and effort on identifying best practices with our neediest students. This report card initiative will not identify best practices, in fact it may inhibit best practices because the teacher who receives a poor grade may resort to more test prep and more narrowing of the curriculum because it is a safety net that will ensure passing CRCT/EOCT scores.
I don’t give up on those bad kids. I teach those kids…quite successfully.
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
12:02 pm
Happy Teacher, I ditto what teacher&mom says, and add that I am also successfully teaching “those kids”, but I could use some help I’m not getting. Instead it appears I’m being blamed for the students who don’t succeed.
I would like to know how our state plans to finance the development plan teacher&mom outlines when we apparently can’t even afford a full 180-day school year now.
In the meantime, I could do a much better job of teaching my students if the General Assembly would repeal that committee-promotion clause. My students do much better on the EOCT when they are able to read it.
Happy Teacher
December 31st, 2010
12:28 pm
I’d be fine with it because: “By controlling for factors beyond a teacher’s control, it is the fairest system-wide way we have to assess the real impact of teachers on student learning.”
t&m and ST671, go back and read the comments of SO many teachers on this blog who only want to be evaluated if they have perfect kids in their class. It’s quite sad… If that’s not you, then great, but it is a large voice on this blog.
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
December 31st, 2010
1:40 pm
Rep. Al Williams attended a teacher-sponsored legislative forum early this year in coastal GA.
Rep. Ron Stephens and Sen. Buddy Carter did not attend.
Let Tom Wommack at twommack@pageinc.org and Sandy Schwellinger at sandy.schwellinger@gae.org know how well your legislators listen to you and your colleagues.
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
1:46 pm
HT, that’s not how I read the other teachers’ comments, and I suspect that you also read one of mine as negative when I asked if I would be rated lower on the report card, since I teach “at-risk” students, than the teacher at our school who teaches only honors students.
Because frankly, I don’t trust this legislature to actually go to the trouble and expense to measure anything but the post-test scores.
Old Timer Educator
December 31st, 2010
2:09 pm
I’ve been waiting to collect my thoughts on the subject before posting. Wasn’t sure if this blog or the previous one would be the best to post in, so I chose the latest one. I guess my opening question would be, what is the real motivation for these report cards? What will they accomplish? If this man has any thought that it will encourage teachers to work harder he, and those on his committee, have no clue what’s going on in the classrooms. I’m blessed to be a part of GCPS and I can tell you from personal observation that the teachers are already working themselves into an early grave. I’ve worked mainly with high, with a few middle, school teachers and in almost thirty years I’ve never seen a group that works harder, longer, and more enthusiastic than these men and women. I feel it pointless to insert a caveat but having read some of the previous posts, I guess it is necessary. No, all of the teachers aren’t perfect….and those have been documented, are going through the remedial process, and will either have to improve or will be asked to leave. If there are schools where this process if not working, then that is the responsibility of the administration and that’s where the focus should be. But let’s get to the basic problem here. It was stated in the article that a large percentage of students were dropping out and it was unacceptable. Before we can enter a discussion about teacher report cards, we need more information. What happened to these students? Did they join Job Core? Did they get a GED? Are they now a part of the work force? Are they on welfare or in jail? It is so easy to get caught up in the raw data, but it’s not the complete story. I’d like to suggest to our politicians that high school as we have now is not the answer for everyone. I do not believe it is a failure of the schools, I believe it is a failure of the DOE and the system we have in place. You want other suggestions – here are some: offer other alternatives to high school completion. Vocational training, apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and tech school. If a student has dropped out of high school, but has gone on and completed their GED or Job Core or some other alternative course, those students have NOT failed and should be considered successful. Also, there are a large number of Hispanic students that drop out when they reach the age of 16 because they are illegal and they see no reason for finishing high school when they don’t see any option for them after graduation. It is a shame. It is heart-breaking. But it is NOT the responsibility of teachers to fix the societal problem of illegal immigration. To hold them responsible for this is almost criminal. I would suggest to parents, teachers, and administrators that the first question to ask in any meeting on the topic of teacher report cards is – what happened to the kids after they dropped out. Let’s look at the real statistics. I can share a little secret with you – my high school would consider me a dropout. I’d be part of their stats that they’re trying to throw in your face. I had 1/2 credit of one subject to complete graduation requirements. I wanted to start a program at a local community school and if I could go ahead and graduate, I could attend it. It was not considered early admission, so according to them I was a “drop out.” I did not return the next year for that half credit. Instead, I took the GED and entered the program I was interested in. Since then, I’ve obtained a BS in the hard sciences, earned a minor in education, and have received both a master’s and specialist’s degree from a brick and mortar research university. So, for those interested in the subject I suggest we do a little bit more investigation before we roll belly-up and let these politicians try to tell us our job.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming.
December 31st, 2010
3:48 pm
Happy Teacher,
QUOTE: “..go back and read the comments of SO many teachers on this blog who only want to be evaluated if they have perfect kids in their class. It’s quite sad… If that’s not you, then great, but it is a large voice on this blog.”
I find it disheartening that you could read post after post from teachers pointing out the potential flaws in this proposal, and come to such a narrow-focused conclusion. There are too many unanswered questions and inherent weaknesses in the proposed “teacher report card” to just accept it without question. The report card idea is being presented as though is has some actual integrity and statistical validity, when in actuality there is very little data suggesting it is effective in improving student performance, and what little data there is suggests it is, in fact, deeply flawed! Unless those who put forth this proposal are willing to actually address these shortcomings, I have no intention of jumping on board yet another “feel good” bit of legislation which does nothing to address the very real and complex problems which face our educational system. When politicians put suggestions which have a REAL potential to improve the quality of our educational system, then I will be the first to embrace change. I am no fan of the status quo either, but a teacher “report card” is not something that truly addresses the difficulties faced in the educational system. It is an exercise in smoke and mirrors which only drains further money from the system, puts in place more bureaucracy and increases teacher stress and administrative burdens! There are already evaluation tools in place to identify poor teachers, and there are sanctions available to deal with those poor teachers. There is no need for a teacher “report card” other than for political showmanship! Let us use the tools that are in place to get rid of poor teachers and drop this blame-game mentality!
Lisa B.
December 31st, 2010
4:32 pm
Old Time, I think the reason for rating teachers is so that those who rate the highest can be paid accordingly, and those who rate the lowest will receive less pay. Bill Gates says over and over in his videos on education that the best teachers should receive the highest rewards. Gates has a huge influence over the latest trends in education. Many higher ups are enthralled with Gates. Merit pay proponents are driving this train.
Mikey D
December 31st, 2010
4:49 pm
Because Bill Gates is such a renowned expert in education…
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
December 31st, 2010
4:54 pm
ScienceTeacher671,
Do many still believe that committee-promoted students are being done any favors? A student who has not met the standards* for the knowledge, skills and attitudes(K/S/A) prerequisite for success in a subsequent course or grade should not be placed there by committee. A committee-promoted student will likely fail later courses and grades until s/he drops out at 16 from a middle or high school where s/he doesn’t have the K/S/A to succeed.
Kids don’t deserve to be placed in grades or courses where they don’t have good chances to succeed. Their classmates and teachers deserve better, too.
* CRCT “standards” are so low that meeting them might mean that a student not only is not ready for his/her next course or grade but also could probably use a thorough review of the one s/he is finishing.
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
December 31st, 2010
5:00 pm
Teachers Must Take a Stand,
Item 3 in your 12:38 AM post contains excellent points!
teacher&mom
December 31st, 2010
5:38 pm
@HT – “I’m fine with it because: “By controlling for factors beyond a teacher’s control, it is the fairest system-wide way we have to assess the real impact of teachers on student learning.”
I have to wonder if you are fine with it because you are convinced you will get a high grade? If so, what are your thoughts about the EPI report below?
“A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute reveals that VAA results vary widely depending on the methodology used and produce inconsistent results from year to year. One study found that, even when using the same methods, a third of teachers ranked in the top 20 percent one year dropped to the bottom 40 percent the next.”
You may be fine with possibility of a high ranking one year and a low ranking the next. I’m not. An assessment that is recognized as being inconsistent is not a fair assessment.
Can you imagine the damage to a teacher’s career if his/her ranking dropped to the bottom 40%?Despite the evidence that says the ranking may be inaccurate it is still published because Rep. Lindsey decided to forge ahead with a bill that failed to consider this possibility.
I live in a small community. Every time I step out the door, I will encounter a parent, student, or past/former student. This “report card” will follow me wherever I go (like a scarlet letter). Do you think the community will understand the degree of error in identifying teachers ratings? Do you think they will take the time to read the research and data behind VAAs and understand that maybe the ranking may be incorrect? Do you think the report card rating will be a benefit to me in the next school year when I try to build a partnership with my parents or will the “score” prove to be a roadblock. I suspect that my efforts, assignments, test grades, etc will no longer be judged on their own merit but based on my “score.”
FirstYearTeacher
December 31st, 2010
5:47 pm
Dr. NO – You are right, being a first year teacher and a good teacher don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. Neither do teaching for 10 years or even 30 years and being a good teacher. By “good” I simply mean that I care. I have years and years of learning to do, that’s for sure. That’s why I’m a teacher! : )
Dr. Craig Spinks – Yes, as I briefly mentioned, I have an administration who supports me and teachers who help me along the way. They have been in my shoes and try to point me in the right direction. I know all first year experiences are learning ones and can be difficult, in any job, and especially teaching. Thank you for your support also!
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
6:02 pm
Frequently I think that Happy Teacher despises other teachers as much as the legislature does.
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
6:23 pm
Dr. Craig, I don’t anyone at the high school level who thinks that committee-promoted students are being done any favors, and you’re correct – a student who just barely passes the 8th grade CRCT will not have the reading skills to adequately read and comprehend a 9th grade science textbook. Since the GaDOE says the reading level of the EOCT is “appropriate for the grade level and subject matter” I’m not certain that such a student will be able to read and comprehend the EOCT, either.
I’m not sure that all middle school teachers are aware of how the low skill levels will impact high school performance, but social promotion is also age-related. What seems to happen is if the student is 16 or close to it, s/he will be promoted to high school no matter how low the scores.
In my opinion, any student who is promoted to high school working 4 or more years below grade level, in other words any committee-promoted student, ought to be automatically tested for learning and intellectual disabilities that might be causing such a significant deficit. Instead, it’s almost impossible to make that happen. My co-teacher & I gathered all sorts of data on such a student last year (had failed the CRCT each year since 3rd grade) in hopes of having the student tested, but the board-level people refused because the student had poor attendance. That student is now a drop-out.
teacher&mom
December 31st, 2010
6:23 pm
@ST671
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
6:25 pm
Apologies for typos in my 6:23 post…a preview pane or editing capability surely would be nice…
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
6:28 pm
t&m, I can’t “hate”, though – I remember (vaguely) when I was young and knew everything!
HS Math Teacher
December 31st, 2010
6:39 pm
Science: Don’t apologize for that. I happen to think that people whose nostrils I can see all the time are not very attractive.
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
6:47 pm
Math:
Happy Teacher
December 31st, 2010
7:15 pm
I’m 37…
Happy Teacher
December 31st, 2010
7:30 pm
And I just feel sorry for the teachers that give up so easily on students who desperately need the most help.
And I do think that this profession needs an infusion of teachers with a never-say-die mindset to get us out of this morass that the previous generation has led us to. So scoff away, assured in your supreme knowledge of everything…
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
December 31st, 2010
8:19 pm
The chairs of our legislature’s committees responsible for Education issues are:
Rep. Brooks Coleman brooks.coleman@house.ga.gov
Sen. Dan Weber dan.weber@senate.ga.gov
ScienceTeacher671
December 31st, 2010
8:43 pm
Dr. Craig, thank you. I wish I felt confident that our teachers’ organizations were doing all they could and should be to represent us and the children of Georgia.
HS Math Teacher
December 31st, 2010
9:56 pm
Brooks Coleman is indeed a character. I remember something about him having a life-long fascination with Roy Rodgers, or some western icon.
d
December 31st, 2010
10:32 pm
Coleman is someone who can be worked with. If I’m not mistaken, GAE endorsed his reelection.
On topic, however, I don’t think the issue most of us have is in the evaluation of teachers, but the methods that are likely to come out of a General Assembly who is largely ignorant to the underlying causes of the problem – and therefore the appropriate solutions to those problems and then the publishing of that information for the general public. As has been stated by GAE’s legislative team, how many other people have their performance appraisals out for public review? If there really is a problem in my classroom, then it is the job of my principal to first get me all the help that can be given and then if, and only if, that doesn’t work, help transition me to a new career. Frankly, the General Assembly has much bigger problems to tackle this session, but I sure would like to see the members educated on the tracked systems of Europe and Asia that we are so often compared to as well as the underlying causes of the problems we face every day in a classroom.
teacher&mom
December 31st, 2010
11:42 pm
@HT— your 7:30 PM post is the similar to the rhetoric that was employed to silence the NCLB naysayers. I find it sad that you are so disrespectful of the previous generation of teachers. I strongly disagree that they are responsible for this “morass.”
I’d like to direct your attention to this link:
http://yong-zhao.com/2010/12/29/john-richard-schrock-why-doesnt-china-get-off-the-teach-to-the-test-system/
In case you decide to not read the article, may I point a few thoughts from the article:
“The American teacher was always unique in deciding what to teach, when to teach, and how to teach it…and the variability in creative questioning has gained us 270+ Nobel Prizes. (Score for China-educated doing research in China is zero…but that will soon change due to many who return after receiving a graduate education in U.S.) But now, partly from test envy and international ignorance, we have headed down a path to standardization in testing that we will not be able to get out of in our lifetime.”
“And today, even at the college level, professors are now seeing forces to standardize what we teach, under the rubrics of seamless articulation, competency-based learning, and state directives to increase retention. Having destroyed professionalism at the K-12 level, American educationists are now ready to apply the external-tests-are-everything paradigm to the best university system in the world.”
Who is responsible for educating the 270+ Nobel Prize winners? Could it be the same generation of teachers you hold in such low regard?
I’m not sure anyone can claim “supreme knowledge of everything.” I have learned that humbleness is a virtue and I still have a thing or two to learn from the previous generation.
teacher&mom
December 31st, 2010
11:47 pm
@d – Isn’t it interesting that according to FERPA, posting a student’s paper with their name AND grade is a violation? I can post a graded paper w/o a name or a paper with a name but no grade. One would think the same logic would apply to posting a teacher’s name with a grade attached.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming.
January 1st, 2011
8:53 am
Happy teacher,
I have never “given up” on any student, nor do I recall posts here in which teacher have claimed to do any such thing. If anything, one of the concerns about a “report card” which will base your value (and most likely eventually your monetary worth) on student performance, is that it will drive good teachers out of classrooms and schools in which such students preside. Maybe YOU have other means of monetary support, but I am making on my own, and if my paycheck gets much smaller, I may lose my house and everything I have worked for my whole career! My tendency to martyr myself to the system only goes so far!
I didn’t do ANYTHING to lead us into this “morass” as you say. I have spent my entire career fighting to do right by my students and using the best teaching techniques available – techniques I now have less and less time to apply due to all the time I must put into district mandates which I feel do NOTHING to benefit my students.
I have also always had a never-say-die attitude, but it has gotten to the point where I am finding there is a direct conflict between time spent doing what I am told I MUST do, verses time spent doing what I know works best with my students, even those you seem to feel I would just toss aside because they aren’t “easy” to teach. (Those children are the ones I MOST enjoy working with do to the challenge and reward.)
For several years, I have been willing to do what is asked of me without complaint. I have resigned myself to hours spent after school and on the weekends for which I will never be compensated. I know I will never be able to take those grand vacations, or afford a new car, but that was always okay because what I did, I did for my children.
However, now, much of what I do has very little to do with actually teaching my students, and too much to do with trying to make the system look like it is working, when it is not. When my students start to suffer, because I simply cannot do all things that are asked of me, and something has to give, then I am going to start speaking up. I am burning out, and I am a “good” teacher. It isn’t teaching that will drive me away; it is knowing I am being forced to sacrifice my students to the system. Maybe you consider that the mark of an educator who is seeking to take the easy path, and who is resistant to change. I consider the mark of an educator who CARES about every child and is doing their best to push for quality education in a society that seems bent on totally destroying the public education system.
ScienceTeacher671
January 1st, 2011
9:22 am
@I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming. Well said! VERY well said!
@Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta Thank you! I’m a bit reassured on seeing that Rep. Coleman has been in the classroom and has an educator’s background, and that d has a good opinion of him. Hopefully that will be helpful. I will be contacting them, plus the legislators in my district.
@teacher&mom, excellent points as always.
@Happy Teacher, “So scoff away, assured in your supreme knowledge of everything…
Pots and kettles come to mind here. I’m not sure you’ve read, or at least comprehended, anything that has been addressed to you. You seem to be convinced that you are the only teacher on this blog who cares about at-risk children. I guess you think the rest of us are only in this for the money?.
teacher&mom
January 1st, 2011
10:04 am
@I love teaching….Powerful writing. May I suggest you put that in the form of a letter to the appropriate representatives? Wow, you summed up everything I feel right now about the teaching profession.
@ST671 – Thank you
teacher&mom
January 1st, 2011
10:40 am
I came across this: The school’s location is somewhere outside of Atlanta.
http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2007/09/living-a-silent.html
Does anyone believe giving Maggie a report card grade will improve the situation for her students? I would love to see our legislature tackle the solutions offered at the end of the article.
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
January 2nd, 2011
9:40 am
Hopefully, the 26 school districts participating in the upcoming RTTT teacher evaluation process are representative of the 180 public school districts in our state. Moreover, any student standardized test scores used in calculating teacher grades should be weighted at least as heavily in calculating the final grades of the respective students who received the scores. Then we’ll have tests in which not only some of our teachers but also their students will really have “high stakes.”
ScienceTeacher671
January 2nd, 2011
3:16 pm
Dr. Craig Spinks, excellent idea about the weighting.
Meanwhile, in the article here (http://www.ajc.com/news/teachers-to-be-graded-792562.html) I read this:
Nationally, teacher evaluations are gaining attention as districts around the country look for ways to improve the quality of the teaching work force…“There’s not a lot of evidence that alternative evaluation systems make a difference, but there’s a lot of evidence what we’re doing today isn’t effective,” Goldhaber said.
So they don’t know if it works, but they are going to bet a lot of people’s careers on it anyway. For the children, of course.
And in a few years, with less and less accountability for students, some teachers fired for non-performance, and others leaving because the system won’t less us teach and gives us students without the skills or motivation to succeed, at some point when they have an even greater shortage of teachers and can’t fill the classrooms, some of our politicians and bureaucrats will address the public in their best Emily Litella voices:
“NEVER MIND!”
Angry Teacher
January 2nd, 2011
3:56 pm
Judging teachers by their students’ scores is crap! Those of us who teach special needs students and lower than average IQ levels do not meet with the same succes in test scores that teachers who only teach advanced classes or higher IQ students achieve. You can pass any leigislation you want, you can demand any sort of benchmark you want, you can berate teachers all you want, but you cannot teach high school students who do not want to be taught nor teach low IQ students who would love to learn but simply cannot do it to please somebody else’s ideas about what are acceptable standards. Common sense has left the educational demands on Georgia’s teachers. Anyone can make statistics and research reveal whatever they choose to prove. The bottom line is not all of the faults of Georgia’s educational system are the teachers faults. Fire the inept teachers and empower the teachers who give a damn. I’m tired of being judged by those in political power over me who don’t know what they are doing. Not one of those who are making these sort of assumptions and statements have ever broken up a fight, held a hand while the student reports to the policeman the previous night’s abuse, held a child who has just lost a parent, or celebrated a near-pass over some state-mandated test. They want to help education? Get a grip in the real world of what is going on in our schools. The future is there, not in their sound bytes.
any county
January 2nd, 2011
5:03 pm
You can’t measure growth with the CRCT. Growth model computer programs just generate “dirty data”. Get any of these computer guys in a room and ask real questions and you will see quickly that they are just making a buck and the programs don’t do as intended-accurately measure growth. With the CRCT changing from grade to grade, cut scores fluctuating,and some grades it is read to them, it is impossible to standardize this from year to year. Plus kids are not little machines. One kid sick and throwing up while taking the CRCT can tank a class average. Can you imagine the pressure on these kids to perform?
A little common sense is needed desperately! We don’t need to waste money on something that does not work.
Angry Teacher
January 2nd, 2011
6:40 pm
Why can’t anyone with common sense be one of the ones in charge of Georgia education? Schools are not a business! They are far more important than a business. They are the future of Georgia!
teacher&mom
January 2nd, 2011
7:03 pm
@Dr. Spinks, I have a teacher friend who works in one of the RttT districts. She says no one said a word about calculating teacher grades. They were told they would be looking at different ways to strengthen teacher evaluations but nothing was mentioned about pay-for-performance or teacher report cards.
I wonder if this is the case in all 26 districts?