Teachers don’t think much of the way they’re evaluated, concludes an Education Sector survey. From AP:
More than half of teachers believe it’s too difficult to weed out ineffective teachers who have tenure, and nearly half say they personally know such a teacher, according to a survey released Tuesday evening by the Education Sector, a nonpartisan think tank.
. . . Most teachers think the evaluation process for new teachers should be strengthened, so that weak teachers don’t become entrenched.
About 70 percent of teachers in the Education Sector survey said receiving tenure was just a formality that has little to do with teacher quality.
Only a quarter said their own most recent evaluation was “useful and effective.”
Compared to 2003, more teachers — especially those with less than five years’ experience — says unions are essential, the report finds. Teachers want their union to “take an active role in improving teacher evaluation, supporting and mentoring teachers, guiding ineffective teachers out of the profession, and negotiating new/differentiated roles/responsibilities for teachers.”
Support for linking pay to test scores has dropped since 2003; only half of teachers want their effectiveness judged based on their students’ progress.
“Support for linking pay to test scores has dropped since 2003; only half of teachers want their effectiveness judged based on their students’ progress.”
Of course, we wouldn’t want anything that might smack of actual objective measurement to be part of the process. That might lead to something unprecedented, like actually improving the educational process.
The horror of it all…..
How many teachers are “professionally” evaluated by someone who has spent mere minutes in their classrooms, who has not taught in years (if at all) and who does not know the students ?
Why shouldn’t teachers be evaluted by the difference that they make in student achievement? Why should they be evaluated on anything else?