Grading Teachers
Teacher certification and effectiveness are not the same and North Carolina gives us some very interesting evidence.
The study focused on North Carolina, which has embraced National Board certification and has 9,801 certified teachers -- tops in the nation.
The researchers looked at student achievement in three school districts, comparing classrooms instructed by board-certified teachers with those with teachers lacking the certification.
Although the study indicated that the board-certified teachers excelled in areas such as planning and using high-quality materials, it found "no clear pattern of effects on student achievement based on whether the teacher was Board certified." Orlando Sentinal
And student achievement is THE goal. The goal isn't what parchment is in the teacher's personnel file--it's ensuring that children leave the system with an education. More evidence that releasing teacher TVAAS scores is important to evaluating their effectiveness. And in case I haven't mentioned it recently, great teachers earn great pay.
1 comment:
SOAP BOX
In Tennessee, TVASS scores are a weak determination of teacher effectiveness. Great teachers don't earn great pay in TN. Only veteran teachers earn greater pay.
TVASS scores don't consider many things such as social or behavioral situations of students. Sure, the expected test results of students are based on previous test scores, but there is so much more to consider.
Furthermore, NCLB is loaded with unrealistic goals. If a school does not meet their target goal in an area, such as graduation rate, then they can be a "target" school. What happens after a school continues to increase their graduation rate until they reach 100 percent? 100 percent is not impossible, but is improbable for many schools.
There are many harsh judgements being made upon educational professionals. If more is demanded from them, then more pay should be given. Pay teachers for who they are--PROFESSIONALS!
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