Linda Darling-Hammond: Video Analysis

Based on the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia has a new way of evaluating all of its teachers. Beginners teachers are held with the same standards as tenured teachers. The evaluation is through Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES) which is consist of three components which gives to an overall Teacher Effectiveness Measure (TEM). First component is Teacher Assessment on Performance Standards (TAPS). The second component is Surveys of Instructional Practice (student perception surveys). Lastly Student Growth Percentile and Student Learning Objective. (SGP and SLO).

As schools across the nation look for a uniform method to evaluate teachers’ performances, concerns about both methods are highlighted. NYC is using the Danielson Framework to evaluate teachers this year; some concerns have been brought up by administrators and the teachers union. In the piliot program it was noted by one administrator that “some of her teachers are not scoring as high on the rubric as she would expect — precisely because the rubric expects the same general characteristics in all grades” (Cromidas, 2012). This is because in the Danielson Framework the observer is looking for weather a teacher is doing the behavior or not. Check mark - there is no distinction between a new teacher and a veteran teacher. The other thing that administrators are noting that the “practicing observing teachers using Danielson had proved to be time-consuming” (Cromidas, 2012). It is recommend that they observer spends a number of informal observations lasting at least 15 minutes in the classroom before the official observation and that the report be turned around in 48 hours to the teacher.

Just like this week’s content, my school is a “mixed bag” of evaluations. First, we have our Head Start Program, which is federally funded, so they have their own evaluations. These evaluations consist of “board members” coming in to evaluate/assess the teacher and classroom as well as meetings that the teacher and her paraprofessional have to attend every other month. These meetings help them focus on the current curriculum that their program has in place to ensure that the program is doing what it is meant to do.

After reading the report, one could characterize current teacher evaluation practices as little more than missed opportunities to increase the effectiveness of teachers and assure that the best teachers stayed in front of students. Practitioners generally agreed with the premise of the critique, and confirmed the identified evaluation weaknesses as both common and wide-spread among school districts. Using teacher effect research and the validity of value-added measures as a platform, and armed with the belief that the sample practices were representative of those in districts across the country, the authors of The Widget Effect urged educational leaders and policy makers to implement specific teacher evaluation reforms, many of which informed (or mirrored) those becoming increasingly prevalent in federal and state

Currently, teachers credibility is assessed by the success of their students on the standardized tests. A teacher in Florida was forced to speak out after he was inequitably evaluated on such standards. “I have four students whose predicted scores were literally impossible. One of my sixth grade students had a predicted score of 286.34. However, the highest a sixth grade student can earn is a 283. The student did earn a 283 incidentally, despite the fact she earned a perfect score, she counted negatively toward my evaluation because she was three points below her predicted score” (Locker). This over critical analysis has no positive effects and is only going to leave teachers and students under more pressure. Despite a teacher's best efforts to prepare their students for a test, some students refuse to put in any effort. There is no situation where a teacher should be assessed on this particular student's negative attitude toward

The success of American Students lies in the hands of teachers. Since, this is such a great responsibility, we have to make sure that we are employing the right teacher for not only the students’ growth but also our nation’s growth. Hard working teachers should be appreciated and celebrated and neglectful teachers should be fired. Unfortunately, the firing of teachers is not possible. In most states, there is no legitimate evaluation process to be met for the teaching position and after a few years, the teaching jobs becomes permanent. The most important step in reforming tenure is to have an effective and an accurate evaluation process. The No Child Left

In the state of South Dakota, the legal requirements of the state and school districts when it comes to supervision and procedures, expectations align with both. The state of South Dakota has adopted the Teacher Effectiveness Model along with any district that is state accredited. This model is based on the Danielson framework, which consists of 22 components, clustered into domains one through four (Danielson, 2007). According to this model, teachers from year one to year three are evaluated at least annually and those teachers year four and beyond are evaluated at least every other year. The state formed a work group made up of teachers and administrators who developed an evaluation instrument that will not only be a tool for administrators to use, but also for teachers.

One Sturgeon Bay High School teacher by the name of Nicole Herbst, works as an educator in the art department, and was open to give her opinion on student-teacher evaluation as well as her concerns. Mrs. Herbst, like many others, brought up the worry of students not taking the assessment seriously. However, she acknowledged and supported the idea, that if the examination was done in the right way, it would be valuable. When asked, should high school students be able to evaluate their teachers? Mrs. Herbst answered with, “Yes, they should be allowed to, but as long as it is set up with different questions, criteria, and the teachers are given the rubric first, that's what we did with college professors. That way, it is fair for the students to think about different areas to score them on, as well as to show what strengths and weaknesses there could be in order for the teacher to get feedback on what could be working or what is confusing with their teaching style. Also, if the teachers know what they are getting graded on, like we should offer for the students, it helps to know what the teachers should professionally focus on more. It helps if the grading is in a survey style and rating system with areas to offer specific comments versus just one flat grade in order to truly be effective.” Her

I agree and disagree with the author in these articles. I thought the changing the teacher evaluation process can be a bad thing and a good thing. I think that teachers should be graded hard on their evaluations, but not too hard that it impossible for teacher to earn tenure. Teachers goals shouldn’t be to earn tenure, but if they teaching their students well. And making an impact in the students’ lives. Tenure is a good idea because everyone should feel safe in their jobs, and feel like they’re won’t get fired. I understand why the state want to make the evaluations harder for teacher, because they want the best teachers in the schools. If there are teachers that getting bad grades on their evaluations then they might not be the best teachers to be teaching children. I think teachers shouldn’t be evaluation be based on 50 percent on students’ standardized-test scores because students could be really bad at tests and then do badly on the test. Teachers could be scored badly on different reasons to like students in low- income families, and students who have disabilities. "Legislators are trying to justify their voting for this bill on the grounds that it increased funding, but that's in many respects to distract from the fact that they voted for things they didn't understand that might end up being damaging to teachers' careers.” I thought that was interesting because it will be damaging that the people who agreeing with these bills don’t understanding what they’re voting for things. This knowledge could be useful to me when I become a teacher because I will be evaluation as a teacher. It is good to know new laws that are being passed with teachers’ evaluations and tenure. It good to know how you are being evaluation, and how you can earn tenure.

Can you imagine a world where we carried on without knowing if what we are doing was right? Or a world where we did not review and improve? We would probably still be using the abacus to count to 100 and the many inventions that we now see as the norm would not have existed if we did not conquer the practice of evaluating. The need for evaluation is correct in all careers and aspects of life, including teaching. According to Gravestock & Gregor-Greenleaf (2008), the U.S uses various tools to evaluate teaching, like course evaluations, in-class/peer evaluations, and an indication of ground-breaking approaches and techniques (Gravestock & Gregor-Greenleaf, 2008). However, student course evaluations are one of the most common tools used to assess classroom teaching (Gravestock & Gregor-Greenleaf, 2008).

Over the past 10 years, there have been significant changes to educational policies in our country. From No Child Left Behind to Race to the Top, the adoption of Common Core Standards and high stakes testing, students, teachers, and schools have been resilient and have adapted to these changes. In addition, Race to the Top also encourages reform relating to teacher evaluation. States across the country restructured their teacher evaluation models to align with policy changes to ensure that their schools would receive federal grant funding (Donaldson & Papay, 2015). Based on the Measure of Effective Teaching Project (MET), funded by the Gates Foundation, states developed teacher evaluation models that assess teachers using multiple measures that include student achievement, classroom observations, and student feedback (Gates Foundation, 2009). Various instruments are being used to measure student achievement and in turn to evaluate teachers. Value-added measures (VAM), state tests, standardized assessments, and student learning objectives (SLOs) are examples of ways states are evaluating teachers’ effectiveness. When looking specifically at SLOs, there are also variations among states, districts, schools, and teachers in how SLOs are developed and the types of measures used to evaluate student progress (CITATION). Measures for student learning objectives may include, but are not limited to, standardized assessments, state tests, vendor generated assessments, value added

When working in the field of special education, one must become intimately familiar with evaluations and assessments. Any individualized education plan worth its salt is laden with proposed or completed data from evaluations and/or assessments both summative and formative. Which I believe is a vital piece to every individualized plan in special education that successfully removes the access barriers confronting students and allowing them the greatest academic potential. Yet in the past when it came to teacher evaluations, I have had an extreme bias in believing they had any worth or value at all. I felt this was a bureaucratic evil that only increased the anxiety level of individuals attempting to do their finest with students. At best,

Unlike most high-achieving nations around the globe, the United States has not created a national system to support teachers. The country also lacks incentives to ensure that all teachers are well-prepared and ready to pass on knowledge all students effectively when they enter the profession. There is also a lack of widely available methods to support the evaluation and the ongoing development of teacher effectiveness throughout their career. This goes along with the decision about their entry and continuation in the profession (Braun, 2010). Meeting the expectation that students will learn to high standards call on the transformation in the ways with which the education system attracts, prepares and supports expert teachers who can deliver

During my internship experience in my school, I had the opportunity of seating in a pre-conference and a post-conference with a new educator who was being formally evaluated. The steps that I took for the observation, reflection, and the sharing of the findings with the teacher are almost identical to what I experienced in my school. However, the evaluation process differs from teachers who are new to the system from those who have been teaching there for years. There is no feedback or expectation for growth for veteran teachers.

With an increase in pay, an increase quality can be asked. In “Our Schools Must Do Better” by Bob Herbert, it is suggested that identifying the good teachers and weeding out the poor can be done with careful asserting on-the-job performances instead of focusing on credentials (Herbert 90). While credentials are important, they are not the end all be all for determining excellence of the teacher and other methods of screening should be taken into consideration before tenure is granted.