For those of you interested in teacher evaluation either for personal, political, research, or other reasons, you should definitely watch this video released on a conference in Arizona on the topic. While I cannot verify everything said in the video, there were some short bursts of truth that I believe strongly:
At around 4:30 - Accountability has shifted over the past decade from students to their teachers. This might cause students to not care as much about the tests themselves yet teachers still force them to try their hardest (to no avail, perhaps) because the test evaluates them.
At around 8:50 - Cutting corners on implementation of these tests affects the reliability and validity of the data collected.
At around 14:45 - Just saying that achievement tests are flawed is not enough. The speaker relates it to saying that cancer is bad - I true statement but not one that provides reason for us to do something about it. The fact that cancer reduces lifespan and causes pain and suffering for all involved is our reason. We need to better articulate what these kinds of tests are doing to our students and schools (for example, this week in Philadelphia my classes are 20 minutes long to accommodate the Keystone test).
While overall I take a lot of issue with current policy surrounding evaluation of teachers I think it is a fascinating discussion to have and I wish more people would attend and debrief conferences like these.
At around 4:30 - Accountability has shifted over the past decade from students to their teachers. This might cause students to not care as much about the tests themselves yet teachers still force them to try their hardest (to no avail, perhaps) because the test evaluates them.
At around 8:50 - Cutting corners on implementation of these tests affects the reliability and validity of the data collected.
At around 14:45 - Just saying that achievement tests are flawed is not enough. The speaker relates it to saying that cancer is bad - I true statement but not one that provides reason for us to do something about it. The fact that cancer reduces lifespan and causes pain and suffering for all involved is our reason. We need to better articulate what these kinds of tests are doing to our students and schools (for example, this week in Philadelphia my classes are 20 minutes long to accommodate the Keystone test).
While overall I take a lot of issue with current policy surrounding evaluation of teachers I think it is a fascinating discussion to have and I wish more people would attend and debrief conferences like these.
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