General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Michelle Rhee is smiling. [View all]sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)I jumped the gun and apologize. Yes, current teacher evaluation systems are imperfect. They go back to the days when everyone already knew who was a good teacher and who wasn't. If a member of the teaching staff was not trying to teach, or to become a better teacher, the system served well in removing that teacher. Of course, it also placed unwarranted power into the hands of administrators. Unions served as a balance against that, but maintaining balance is always difficult. The problem now is to determine what works better. Obviously, predicating professional competence with standardized test scores is far worse than the current system, where at least the interactions are human. Where I teach we use a system based upon a combination of 3 classroom observations that last for an entire period. Content expertise is assumed and a rubric is used to assess the lesson plan for desired indicators such as differentiation and cooperative learning, among others. Statistically measurable indicators of student improvement, designed by individual teachers or academic departments are included in portfolios of professional development. This includes such things as evidence of innovative implementation of curricula, published work in the content area and whatever else a teacher wished to include. There are 20 indicators discussed during evaluation conferences. While this system is itself imperfect, it does combine both objective and subjective information into the system.