One Sturgeon Bay High School Teacher: A Case Study

The practice of evaluating students and teachers based on expensive and stressful standardized testing has been the focus of educational reform for over a decade and has thus far proven to be ineffective (Ravitch 51).

Student assessment is something we take very seriously. It is our duty to make sure our educators are doing what they are supposed to be doing and our students excelling. We have diverse learners attending our school district so this is something we take into consideration. Every child has a different way in developing and each student has a different way in learning. How they learn is what makes them unique. Coming up with the right methods to reach our students is something our educators do best. They

This is putting a lot pressure on teachers and is resulting in “Teaching to the Test”, which means they are spending a great amount of time teaching students only the objectives that they know will be on the test. This is only a small sample of what students should be taught throughout the school year. Another effect of these evaluations is the loss of effective teachers. A survey by NEA Today showed that nearly forty-five percent of teachers have or have contemplated leaving their profession. It is clear to see teachers’ evaluations need less emphasis on their students’ standardized test scores and more on their ability to teach. This would allow teachers to teach a wider range of objectives and be evaluated on their ability to teach and not their students

Ch. 1 – What are my classroom assessment responsibilities as a teacher and how can I fulfill them in ways that maximize the success of my students? This chapter speaks to the nature of what sound assessment is, and the importance of really involving students in this process. Assessment is, of course, FOR the students. The idea that assessment is used by the students, and that teachers should “demystify” assessment and the meaning of success in their classroom is a very simple one, but one that is often forgotten in the context of high-stakes test-ridden classrooms, and schools that view letter grades as the only evidence of learning.

Educational policies guide professional practice. By developing policies, agencies determine appropriate courses of action to aid individuals in applying a set of procedures in a systematic and equitable manner. My essay describes the Spotsylvania County Public School’s (SCPS) policy on Teacher Evaluation and traces its roots through the various levels of regulatory entities. In order to provide a rich context, pertinent case law and applicable literature in terms of the topic is also presented within the essay.

Kizlik (2014) describes assessment and evaluation as fundamental elements of the knowledge base of professional teachers. Kizlik (2014) also recommends that the implementation of both assessment and evaluation be a principal component of the curricula at colleges and universities. Therefore, understanding the differences between assessment and evaluation is vital in effective teaching for professional teachers and students. Although both require the collection of data, summaries, and interpretation, the primary differences between the two are timing and purpose (Bastable, 2014). Therefore, assessment and evaluation strategies help balance the aspects of admission, progression, and retention and safeguard positive program outcomes in nursing education (NLN, 2012).

Amazing teachers are deciding to leave their jobs everyday because of the stress and pressure to teach standards that will appear on assessments (“Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing.”). These standardized assessments are often used in order to evaluate teachers as well. This is not fair to those teachers who go above and beyond when teaching their students. If one of their students just simply does not care and therefore gets a low score, this falls back on the teacher. In the article, “Do Student Test Scores Provide Solid Bases to Evaluate Teachers”, David Plotnikoff talks about this system by arguing that, evaluations based off of test scores should not be used when making “high-stakes individual personnel decisions such as merit pay or teacher ranking” due to their unreliability. It is not fair to the great teachers of this country to be evaluated based off of students who can only be influenced so much. All of this corruption and failure found in the educational system adds to the many reasons of why America is not the greatest country in the

Education reform takes on different forms depending on the goals of reformers. However, most will agree their ultimate goal is to positively impact student achievement. Changes in public education continues to increase teacher accountability, as well as, update curriculum standards and standardized tests. The teacher evaluation system is one focus of recent initiatives. While district implement new teacher evaluation methods, skepticism surrounds its effectiveness, in improving teaching, and comprehensiveness, in assessing the multi-faceted role a teacher plays in the lives of students. I have experienced the good, bad, and ugly of the teacher evaluation system of Shelby County.

One source states, "while using student test scores to rate teachers may seem intuitive, researchers say it actually

The question of assessment in the "school system, individual schools, and teachers has evoked strong and sometimes violent emotions from the educational community, the general public and their legislative representatives"(Brown & Knight, 1994). Assessment based on standardized tests has been looked at very closely over the recent years, and some people have even mentioned that they be eliminated completely. Those who feel traditional methods should be replaced by alternative methods. These people feel that demonstration, exhibition, investigation, oral response, portfolio, and written response's are all examples of

As a Middle School Language Arts teacher, I have found that assessments are a daily part of our job. Everything that my students do in the classroom ultimately ends up being assessed in some sort of way. I must admit that it can at times be overwhelming for assessments to be such a huge part of our curriculum; I understand the necessity of each one. I haven’t always been focused as intently on assessments. I really didn’t consider the importance of assessments as much. As I gained experience and knowledge I realized that assessing my students provides me with information that makes my job more successful. I believe to effectively teach my students, I must understand and implement the right assessments properly. My assessment philosophy is that to be able to ensure our students are learning and that we are teaching the right way we must include proper assessment for validation. With that being said it is very important to use different forms of assessments to gauge student performance. One of the outstanding features of studies of assessment in recent years has been the shift in the focus of attention, towards greater interest In the interactions between assessment and classroom learning and away from concentration on the properties of restricted forms of test which are only weakly linked to the learning experiences of students (Black 2015) This research supports the idea that assessments

​I strongly believe that all teachers should be evaluated fairly. An evaluation is an important tool used both by administration and teachers to identify areas of strength and weakness and determine ways to increase effective instructional practice in the classroom. However, I do not believe that teachers’ pay and positions should be based on the performance of their students on standardized tests. Thinking back to the days when it came time for standardized testing, I knew that I would not do well. I never tested well no matter how hard I tried. I consistently received high scores on papers I wrote and did well on assignments, but my standardized test scores produced much different results. My sister, on the other hand was just the opposite. The teachers were not at fault because I did not test well and I do not blame them when I scored poorly.

Should students be aloud to grade their teachers? The question is rather controversial, and disregarded in the land of academics for asking more questions than it answer, but it would make an awful lot of sense to implement a student-teacher grading system. After all, teachers grade their students, so why shouldn't students be able to grade their students? And wouldn't students rating their teachers create a system of checks and balances? These are some of the many questions posed by those who support the idea that students should rate their teachers. However this isn't as one sided as it seems, rather it's much more convoluted and can't simply be answered with a yes or no question.

When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having

Assessment enables educators to provide feedback to their learners, this in turn promotes self-evaluation by the learner, as they use the assessment feedback to scrutinise and make judgements about the quality of their work (Spiller, 2009:6 & 7).