Baltimore
City Public Schools is currently field-testing a new teacher evaluation system
that it plans to implement in the 2013-2014 school year. The new evaluation
model attempts to remedy the existing observation-based system, which critics
claim does not accurately reflect disparities in teacher effectiveness. The
innovative model will incorporate student growth measures, such as value-added
scores based on standardized assessments, student surveys, measures of school
performance and professional responsibility, and observations. While there is
an emerging body of research on value-added measures and the utility of student
surveys, there ought to be more debate on whether or not school-index scores
should impact individual teacher evaluations.
In
the new evaluation framework, (accessible in presentation form here: http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/Page/18778)
measures of student growth and the school index score will make up 50% of a
teacher’s entire evaluation. Any individual component may not consist of more
than 35% of the final effectiveness measure, which means that the school index
score will make up at least 15% of a teacher’s evaluation. The school-index component
will consider attendance, school-wide growth measures, and school climate. The
District argues that this will promote teamwork within individual school
communities and reward schools that tackle school-wide challenges. This sounds
great, but I can’t help but wonder what effect this will have on schools facing
the greatest challenges. City schools with the most concerning climate issues and
lowest growth rates are arguably the hardest schools to work at from a
teacher’s perspective. If teachers working at schools with positive climates
are rewarded, then what incentive do effective teachers have to teach at our
lowest performing schools?
I
am very skeptical of the idea that including school-index scores in teacher
evaluations will incite school improvement. The idea that teachers will rally
together to prompt school-wide change, in order to improve their evaluations,
is troublesome. A low score will imply that teachers in failing schools are not
working together or doing everything they can to improve their school. Teachers
I know in failing schools will beg to differ. Schools fail for a multitude of
reasons outside of teacher performance, including poor leadership and years
worth of lowered expectations for academics and behavior. Improving schools and
school climate starts with building a school family and a staff that is
committed to the school, community, and students. How can a school build a
strong community if it is constantly experiencing large staff turnovers like
many failing schools? If the
school-index scores negatively impact overall teacher evaluations then this
problem is only exacerbated. As a school district, we need to be thinking of
ways to keep highly effective teachers in front of the children who need them
most, and in my opinion, incentivizing employment in high-growth schools with
positive climates is counterintuitive to improving failing schools.
1 comment:
I can understand the theory behind including the school index on the evaluation, but I agree with you that it does not make sense in practice. Most teachers I know who work in failing schools are not hiding in their classrooms as the school falls down around them. They are actively working very hard to improve the school climate, working collaboratively with other teachers. While it is a nice idea to reward teachers for creating a positive school climate, I agree that it simply isn't reasonable to punish teachers for choosing to work at a school with a negative culture. I wonder if there could be an element of the evaluation that would take into account teachers' contributions to the school culture. For example, as part of the professional responsibilities, teachers could earn extra points for creating or contributing to school-wide efforts to improve culture, such as a parent movie night or even a detention system that works. This type of evaluation would reward teachers' efforts but would not punish them if the overall results are not positive due to factors beyond their control.
Post a Comment