Archive for the ‘Performance pay’ Category

One of the foundations of Georgia’s new teacher evaluation system will be classroom observations by administrators, which are supposed to occur twice a year and last 30 minutes each.

There are already doubts about whether these classroom visits will occur given the time constraints on principals or whether they will yield reliable information on teacher effectiveness. (See comment from the leader of the DeKalb teachers group that he is hearing complaints these observations are not happening as required in the pilot program under way.)

Here is new research that will add to the concerns. This is from Indiana University School of Education:

Classroom observation measures don’t necessarily provide a clearer picture of teacher effectiveness than value-added measures based on student test scores, according to a review of the most recent report from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project’s large-scale examination of teacher evaluation methods. The review was led by Cassandra …

Continue reading Do classroom observations of teachers give us reliable info? »

NBC brought its “Education Nation” project to Atlanta today with a two-hour town hall meeting with teachers at the Georgia Aquarium.

The web-streamed event revisited the usual education topics, teacher effectiveness, career and college readiness, the global workplace, charter schools and the role of technology.

While each of the four panels had a theme, panelists often strayed, so the discussions traveled far and wide. The teachers on the panel and those in the audience were articulate and committed; they certainly put forth Georgia’s best face in education. Many were National Board Certified teachers or county Teachers of the Year.

One of the panelists was a Georgia Teacher of the Year, Jadun McCarthy, a Bibb County high school teacher. (I have quoted the outspoken and eloquent Mr. McCarthy frequently on the blog in the past; he was more constrained under this format than when simply loosed at a microphone.)

McCarthy credited Georgia with applying for and winning a waiver …

Continue reading NBC’s Education Nation: In Atlanta today with teacher town hall »

I thought this memo from David Schutten of the Organization of DeKalb Educators to his members about the contract mess in DeKalb was worth sharing as it clears up several points.

While his memo speaks to the plight of DeKalb educators this week, his comment about the failure of administrators to spend the required time to do the new, more comprehensive teacher observations underscores a statewide concern.

When the state unveiled its plan for new teacher evaluations that will consider student performance and require increased classroom observation, I asked DOE whether it was a realistic, whether principals would be able to find the time to go into classrooms and watch teachers at work.

Schutten’s comments suggest that they are not finding the time –  even under a limited pilot model involving a handful of teachers. How can we expand this model to every teacher in every school?

Here is Schutten’s memo, which was written for members of ODE:

I met with Dr. Tekshia Ward-Smith, …

Continue reading DeKalb teachers group: Sign that contract if you want your job »

I am baffled how a mistake of this nature could occur with something as critical as teacher contracts, but here it is:

MEMO TO: Certified Instructional, Supervisory, and Administrative Personnel

FROM: Dr. Tekshia Ward-Smith, Chief Human Resources Officer

THROUGH: Dr. Cheryl L. H. Atkinson, Superintendent

REFERENCE: Clarification Memo Regarding Employment Contracts for the 2012-2013 School Year

Thank you for your contributions to the DeKalb County School District. Please allow this memo to serve as clarification to the Employment Contract for the 2012-2013 school year you received on April 30, 2012.

Each year the District includes in the employment contract certain measures leading into the budget process. This amount generally reflects a lower amount due to the timing of the budget process and the State of Georgia required deadline for contract issuance. According to state law, the deadline for contract issuance is before the deadline for the final adoption of the operating …

Continue reading Oops. DeKalb sends wrong contract language to teachers. Corrections going out. »

I am hearing today from DeKalb teachers about contracts and letters, which appear to the source of confusion to some folks.

One teacher wrote:

We were informed today that we are receiving a 6.25 percent pay cut for the next academic year. Today, teachers were presented with contracts that are due on May 9th. The explanation for the pay cut was explained as an effect of a $70 million dollar budget shortfall. Teachers were given no other explanation or choice. This comes after we received a confusing email from the district explaining a “calendar change.”  In this message, it appeared that teachers would be receiving pay increases of $1,000-$1,200 per month. This was later explained as an error.

But DeKalb spokesman Walter Woods said: “All contracts of employment for the 2012-2013 school year have been delivered to schools. Employees will either receive a contract or a delay letter. Teachers also received a letter today explaining that all contracts are printed with a …

Continue reading Contracts delivered today to DeKalb teachers »

The AJC has published the second installment in its major series on test score disparities nationwide. Today’s stories look at the improbable score patterns in some of the nation’s most highly decorated schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools.

AJC reporters included a winning school that even merited a visit from Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Highland Elementary in Maryland.

“This school, just four or five years ago, wasn’t a Blue Ribbon school,” Duncan said that morning in September 2009, according to video of thew award event. “It had the same type of children, same type of families, same type of community — but dramatically different results.” Now, he said, “this school has more students at the advanced level than any other school like it in the state. It’s absolutely remarkable.”

And remarkably unlikely, according to the AJC analysis. It is essential to verify the achievement at these heralded school as they are held up as role models.

According to …

Continue reading AJC cheating series: National Blue Ribbon Schools that may be red-faced at these revelations »

The release of teacher ratings in New York has led to discussion in the legislature there to limit general public access to the information while still allowing parents to see how their child’s teacher performed.

The debate in New York ought to closely watched here in Georgia where teaching ratings are just around the corner as part of the state’s Race to the Top reforms.

It is still unclear whether those ratings will be released in Georgia. Education policy leaders involved in Race to the Top have said in the past that they will not seek publication of teacher ratings, but the Legislature or governor may disagree.

According to The New York Times: (This is only an excerpt. Try to read full piece.)

With the Legislature preparing to go into session next week, the question of how much privacy teachers are granted could soon be resolved. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Monday that he believed in preserving the public access guaranteed by current law. The city released its …

Continue reading New York lawmakers may reconsider public’s right to see how teachers are rated »

In the cheating hall of fame, Atlanta may stand out, but it may not stand alone.

Nearly 200 school districts across the country have such suspicious test score patterns that the odds of them occurring by chance are worse than 1 in 1,000.  And in 33 of those districts, the odds are worse than one in a million.

In a powerhouse investigation in Sunday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the investigative reporting team that uncovered test disparities in Atlanta Public Schools reveals the findings of a seven-month analysis of 1.6 million records from 70,000 public schools nationwide.

Here is a link that will get you to the entire package, but plan to spend some time as it has multiple elements.

The AJC used freedom of information laws to collect test scores from 49 states — 14,743 districts and 70,000 tests –  to look for the sort of patterns that signaled cheating.

Along with our own database reporters, the AJC consulted outside experts to assess our analysis. (Please pick up a …

Continue reading New AJC investigation casts doubts on integrity of testing nationwide. Is there a whole lot of cheating going on? »

Take time to read this great essay in Education Week by Florida teacher Nadia Zananiri, who teaches AP World History at Miami Beach Senior High School and serves as AP World History mentor teacher for Miami-Dade county.

In the essay, Zananiri explains why, despite a school she loves and wonderful students, she plans to go work in a private school.

She notes that even “after the state Legislators decided to exempt Advanced Placement classrooms from the twice voter approved class size amendment, and my student work load ballooned to 190 students without any extra pay, I was planning on staying.”

So what changed her mind?

This is an except. Please read the entire piece.

But after the last faculty meeting, the state dealt the final blow to my teaching career in Florida public schools. We were told about the wonders of a magical algorithm that would be able to predict student growth. It’s called the “value-added model.” I refer to it as voodoo mathematics. If teachers …

Continue reading “Good teachers can now be fired because of bad math” »

The Tennessean newspaper is reporting that lawmakers there are considering legislation to shield teacher performance scores from parents and the press. The state Department of Education had said earlier that a teacher’s final evaluation score would be made public if sought through an open records request that cleared department attorneys.

The question of releasing teacher ratings has come to the forefront after the information was made public in Los Angeles and New York. Georgia will be faced with this decision eventually as it is now testing a new teacher rating system as part of its Race to the Top grant. If deemed to be open records, as they were in New York, the ratings would have to be made public.

According to the Tennessean:

A new measure is drawing praise from the state’s largest teachers union and disappointment among some observers. In a time of massive education reform, opponents say, parents and the public should get to see how it’s working.

The vote came …

Continue reading Tennessee moves to prevent parents, press from seeing new teacher ratings. Georgia will face this issue, too. »