Problems with the use of student test scores to evaluate teachers

[proud2BlibKansan]

Every classroom should have a well-educated, professional teacher, and school systems should recruit, prepare, and retain teachers who are qualified to do the job. Yet in practice, American public schools generally do a poor job of systematically developing and evaluating teachers.

Many policy makers have recently come to believe that this failure can be remedied by calculating the improvement in students’ scores on standardized tests in mathematics and reading, and then relying heavily on these calculations to evaluate, reward, and remove the teachers of these tested students.

While there are good reasons for concern about the current system of teacher evaluation, there are also good reasons to be concerned about claims that measuring teachers’ effectiveness largely by student test scores will lead to improved student achievement. If new laws or policies specifically require that teachers be fired if their students’ test scores do not rise by a certain amount, then more teachers might well be terminated than is now the case. But there is not strong evidence to indicate either that the departing teachers would actually be the weakest teachers, or that the departing teachers would be replaced by more effective ones. There is also little or no evidence for the claim that teachers will be more motivated to improve student learning if teachers are evaluated or monetarily rewarded for student test score gains.

A review of the technical evidence leads us to conclude that, although standardized test scores of students are one piece of information for school leaders to use to make judgments about teacher effectiveness, such scores should be only a part of an overall comprehensive evaluation. Some states are now considering plans that would give as much as 50% of the weight in teacher evaluation and compensation decisions to scores on existing tests of basic skills in math and reading. Based on the evidence, we consider this unwise.

http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/6276/

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Couple of things get in the way of taking a test to the best of your ability.

1. They're inconsistent in good, comprehensive prose. Even the students with the best reading comprehension can't sometimes understand what the question is asking.

1 (a). It's worse if you're a student who was not given the opportunity to develop an ability to competent decipher and comprehend what you're reading.

2. Some answers are evasive and don't directly answer the question asked. (Couple that with Problem #1.) You have to choose the answer that is "closest" to what the logical answer would have been.

3. Time Constraints. If given enough time, almost anyone can improve his/her score. But if you have an average 3.5 minutes for each question, you have to move on rather than fully integrate the question and carefully consider each option given.

And to turn around and blame the teachers?! Blame the test, blame the system.

[MichiganVote]

2. A good teacher evaluates her students fairly and wisely...

1. Attendance-available for instruction

2. Participation-willing to take an active part in class/school relevant activities

3. Fulfills assigned work-completes assignments consistently and on time

4. Demonstrates competence-passing grades/percentages on tests or assigned work

5. Works well in groups-able to provide insight and produce work in cooperation with others

6. Demonstrates organization-able to synthesize learning objectives

7. Creativity-willing to take risks and attempt new strategies

8. Communication-respectful interpersonal exchanges among peers or adults

9. Leadership-demonstrates collaboration in the class or in the school

10.Diligence-perseverance to sustain knowledge and to overcome adversity


What part of this list is not relevant to proper instruction? Which of these is not imperative to future employment? And finally, which one of these is worth more than the others?

[Catshrink]

3. Can't put it on a scantron form so it doesn't count.

Sorry.

[MichiganVote]

4. Isn't it amazing how the most highly evolved creature on the planet

just keeps makin' itself smaller and smaller until we're the size of a minuscule little square on a single page of paper?

Pathetic.

[Catshrink]

5. Is that reductionism?

Just asking, I'm too lazy to look it up.

[MichiganVote]

6. Apparantly. Seems to work for the billionaires tho'.

[mopinko]

7. i don't think anyone thinks it is magic, or that simply

looking at data will change teacher performance. a good measure is a tool to improvement. it isn't improvement in and of itself. that is just stupid.