Teachers need honest evaluations, national report says

Bad teachers and the hurdles to firing them are real problems. But they're just one part of a more pressing dilemma – the failure of schools to honestly and accurately evaluate teachers, says a new report out this morning from The New Teachers Project.

The vast majority of teachers earn excellent evaluations, while only a tiny fraction earn bad ones, says "The Widget Effect," which analyzed the ratings at 12 school districts in four states (none of them were in Florida.) That kind of evaluation inflation prevents schools from recognizing the best teachers, so they can become models. And it keeps other teachers from getting the targeted professional development they need to get better.

"While it is impossible to know whether the system drives the culture or the culture the system, the result is clear – evaluation systems fail to differentiate performance among teachers," the report says. "As a result, teacher effectiveness is largely ignored. Excellent teachers cannot be recognized or reward, chronically low-performing teachers languish, and the wide majority of teachers performing at moderate levels do not get the differentiated support and development they need to improve as professionals."

TNTP offers recommendations to turn this around. But it also suggests the vicious cycle now in place won't make it easy:

"Administrators generally do not accurately evaluate poor performance, leading to an expectation of high performance ratings, which, in turn, cause administrators to face stiff cultural resistance when they do issue even marginally negative evaluations," the report says. "The result is a dysfunctional school community in which performance problems cannot be openly identified or addressed."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[SchoolChoiceMom]

teacher tired of crazy parents,
I do actually have a real job, and in my business if I was as incompetent as that ONE teacher, I would not have a job any more. I know that several great teachers also felt that she should not be teaching, so it was not just my personal opinion. I also voiced it after my child finished in her class and was having trouble the next year because she failed to teach him what he needed to know.

That teacher's job was to teach, not babysit, or encourage children to enforce discipline for her, or to let them teach themselves, or play videogames in class. It was an open secret in the school. The principal knew it, and so did a lot of other people. I found out about a lot of this after the fact.

MOST teachers are terrific, and do a fantastic job in sometimes less than ideal conditions. I help out at school more than most, and not with my own kids either! I have nothing but admiration for teachers. I have had three kids in that school over the last 5 years and I have made one negative comment about one teacher in all that time. I have said nothing but good about the rest because that's what they deserve
Or is that maybe you're not so great at the job you do and just a little bit sensitive?
Insider is right, evaluations should be quantifiable and as unbiased as possible. My point was that principals are not unbiased, and may even play favorites at evaluation time.

[Like Duh]

In Hillsborough county, teachers "check the left" on their self-evaluations - always choosing the "best box" in every category. Then the principal signs the evaluation.

The exception to this is when the teacher has challenged the administration openly. Then that teacher, who is obviously a very bad one, is given lower marks.

[Pointer out of the odd]

Follow the money. The textbook publishers and other corporate interests that have a vested interest in constantly calling for reform are the problem. Teachers are not the problem.

[JohnM]

If I were to run the world, I would require administrators to have a 6 year contract. During one other those 6 years they would have to go back to the classroom in whatever area of certification they have. That way they would have first-hand knowledge of the application of many of their mandates. They would have a "regular" class from August until June, would possibly have to "float," do bus duty, contact parents, sit in on IEP meetings, attend workshops, etc. in other words do the job of a teacher. If they do not do this they would have to resign/retire.

But, that is probably why I don't run the world.

[Jaymz]

The big problem I see in many schools is the personal relationships (friendships) that have influenced not only who is on the staff, but how that "friend" is evaluated.
Some days it feels like I'm working in the 13th grade with all the clicks and "special treatment" of some makes me sick. This just proves that old saying, "it's not what you know, it's WHO you know".

[teacher tired of crazy parents!]

SchoolChoiceMom,
Wouldn't you want your boss to stick up for you if some nosy person was bashing you to your boss? Oh wait, you probably don't have a job which allows you to be the obnoxious parent you are. Do the job. Then someone might listen to your critique.

[Teacher]

Evaluations are a yearly thing. Teachers must have an IPDP (Individual Professional Development Plan)at the start of school, and then their annual evaluation is tied into it. The point is to show student and professional growth and support the SIP. Some statistics are used. Most teachers are formally observed only once a year. "Walk throughs" are/were popular, but this year not many took place at my school. Teachers for the most part are left to their own devices in the classroom and are trusted to do so because they do a great job. Everyone knows who is not doing so well, and they should get help or get out.

[Insider]

Evaluations need to be objective, quantifiable, and based on a consistent set of goals and standards. Meeting these goals should be verifiable and less dependent on subjective opinions. One option would be to allow third-party educators to perform evaluations, which may eliminate local-school bias. Maybe we should bring in a qualified administrator from another school within the district to perform observations and evaluations outside of their own school, overriding the temptation for local principals to show favorites, punish "troublemakers", or avoid internal conflict. Often, evaluations have more to do with politics and personalities, than professional standards.

[?????]

I would like to see better evaluations of support staff. Employees that cannot speak proper english teaching read 180? Employees absent all the time? Playing computer games on their computers? Some Principals keep people for the wrong reasons. This does not help the students or the school.

[SchoolChoiceMom]

Lynne,
I do all of the things you suggest in terms of involvement. The truth is that parents often know which teachers are good and which need help, and the kids know it too. The problem is that our opinions are not asked or valued. I once actually told the principal that a teacher was not very good and he was adamant that she was great. Talking to other teachers is was clear that she wasn't at all and should not have been teaching. That was when I took up selecting my children's teachers based on my own observations. Next year that will not be allowed at their school.
retiredteacher, remember that administrators are people who love teaching children so much that they don't actually do it!

[retiredteacher]

How about taking into account some administrators' antipathy toward some teachers or their general lack of teaching experience to be able to evaluate who is doing a good job.

[Lynne]

What we need is a little more accountability for parents and students. If parents were involved with their child's education, they would have an accurate picture of the teacher and could have an impact of improving teachers or removing them. Of course, this would require them to visit the school, look at homework, talk to their child and teacher.

[Sam]

I know we'll improve now, with our extra planning time on Wednesdays! Kudos to pcta for sticking up for us!