The Trend Continues

Looks as if this trend in teacher evaluation is spreading—and supported by the teachers’ unions!  From the state that brought us value-added assessment, Tennessee, is this report from the Tennessean, the Nashville newspaper, is summarized below:

Four years ago, Holston Middle was a school where hard-working teachers weren’t seeing results.  It was only a matter of time before the Knox County school ended up on the state’s target list, said Principal Tom Brown, and that would mean state sanctions and the stigma of being a failing school.

Frustrated, the teachers overwhelmingly voted to launch a new system that would revamp the school by offering bonuses for top teachers, offering loads of on-site training for staff and tying yearly evaluations to student test scores.

The TAP system — the new, formal name that used to be an acronym — worked, and now it’s one of several teacher evaluation models state leaders are pointing to as a way student test scores and performance pay can lead to better schools.

Lawmakers this week passed new legislation that would for the first time require student test scores to be included in a teacher’s evaluations. It also would require teachers to be evaluated annually.  Knoxville Superintendent of Schools James McIntyre said the district is eager to share its success story with the state and thinks components of the system could be adapted to a larger scale.

“This is a strong, successful instructional improvement and school reform model,” he said. “I’ve been talking to anyone who will listen about the success we’ve seen, and I would be very interested in expanding the model.”

The idea is controversial because opponents argue that teachers can’t control all the things that go into a good test score, like a good night’s sleep or a solid breakfast.

But supporters of the TAP system say it won approval from teachers’ unions, parents, and principals, because of its focus on training, rewarding good teachers and setting clear expectations.

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