Mediocre teachers? Not around here

The results are in: 99.7 percent of Pinellas teachers and 99.3 percent of Hillsborough teachers last year were rated either outstanding or satisfactory, according to district data requested by the Gradebook. We asked more than a month ago, prompted by this highly praised report from The New Teacher Project, but for some reason it took a while for the numbers to trickle out.

The TNTP found the overwhelming majority of teachers in the 12 districts it studied were rated either outstanding or satisfactory. Which is a big problem, TNTP says, not only because it's at odds with how teachers themselves would rate their peers, but because it means bad teachers aren’t getting booted, average teachers aren’t getting the professional development they need to get better and outstanding teachers aren’t being modeled so others can learn from them.

Keep reading to see a more specific breakdown for Pinellas and Hillsborough. (The Pinellas figures show all instructional personnel. The Hillsborough figures are just for classroom teachers.)

Pinellas: Of 8,133 instructional staff, 4,641 were rated Level 4 (57.1 percent), 2,336 were Level 3 (28.7 percent), 998 were Level 2 (12.3 percent), 133 were Level 1 (1.6 percent) and 25 were below Level 1 (0.3 percent). Pinellas considers Levels 3 and 4 to be outstanding and Levels 1 and 2 to be satisfactory. Below Level 1 is unsatisfactory.

Hillsborough: Of 12,887 classroom teachers, 6,709 were rated Outstanding (52.1 percent), 6,088 were rated Satisfactory (47.2 percent), 62 were rated Needs Improvement (0.5 percent) and 28 were rated Unsatisfactory (0.2 percent).

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[HS Teach]

Teacher and Taxpayer is right. Sad, but true. Sometimes, honesty of the teacher being evaluated is even discouraged. I recall years ago marking myself off in areas I really felt a need to better develop, only to be told by my evaluator that I had to be marked higher because even Mrs. ____ didn't get marks that low. That was the point at which I decided I would never worry as much about how an administrator evaluated me as I would about the evaluations I give myself and the ones I have my students give me!

[teacher and taxpayer]

What about the excellent teacher who doesn't get a good evaluation? It happens! Thanks to administrators on a power trip or seeking retribution of some sort. Evaluations are often based on who you know, not always what you know!

[redisni]

The improbable numbers reinforce the old say "there are lies, big lies and then there are statistics. Administrators like to use statistical results to support their progress and planning, but this time the numbers came back to bite them.

By the way, those 28 low performing teachers from Hillsborough probably came from my school. Since those teachers were purged from the school, can Hillsborough now boast a 100% satisfactory+ rate?

[Melissa]

During my evaluation my administrator got called out of the room three times. Didn't make me feel important at all. The constructive criticism that was given was shoved in the desk.

[publicschoolteacher]

In Pasco, evaluations are "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" check marks. Nothing above, below or in between. My principal didn't even come into my room for an observation this year, but I got all "satisfactory" checks. Now, I like to think that I am doing a great job, but is my administration aware of this?

[terminator]

when is the American public going to stop being bombarded with the good teacher/bad teacher argument?

why are we not hearing more about the good politician vs bad politician, good cop vs bad cop, good fireman vs bad fireman, good superintendent vs bad superintendent, good school board member vs bad school board member, good parent vs bad parent, good drycleaner vs bad drycleaner, etc. etc.?

Under the kind of thinking we've seen here, if crime rates are up that must mean cops aren't doing their jobs. If more people are getting in wrecks than it must be the fire rescue people's fault, if more schools are failing it must be the district administration and school board's fault. If more banks are failing it must be because of bad bank employees.

What will they do when all the teachers are gone?

I think you get the message.

[flateacher]

On my evaluation, there are only yes and no boxes (and if you choose no you must explain on a separate piece of paper!) That makes it harder/more time consuming for principals to really evaluate. Also, yes and no requires a lot more proof than excellent/satisfactory/needs improvement/poor.

I'm a union teacher and I want a more constructive evaluation to weed out the teachers that give the rest of us a bad reputation!