Value-Added Measures
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Ed-Tech Policy
Opinion
Accountability for Mr. Gates: The Billionaire Philanthropist Evaluation
But let's imagine we could turn the tables on Mr. Gates and evaluate his performance as a philanthropist. Might we establish some goals to which we could hold our billionaires accountable? We do not have any measurable indicators such as test scores to use, but since I do not find these to be of great value in any case, I will offer a more qualitative metric, based on my knowledge of the subject's work. Since he has spoken glowingly of the salutary effect of feedback on teachers, surely he will welcome this feedback, even though it is unsolicited.
Federal
Opinion
Bill Gates Dances Around the Teacher Evaluation Disaster He Sponsored
This amounts to an attempt to distance the Gates Foundation from the asinine consequences of the policies they have sponsored, while accepting no responsibility for them whatsoever.
This is a non-starter, as far as I am concerned.
When Bill Gates states he is all for accountability, perhaps he might start with himself. Until then, I really do not value his views on what good accountability systems for others ought to consist of.
Teaching Profession
The 'Widget Effect' Endures: Teachers Still Rated High
A recent Education Sector report does a deep dive into school evaluation systems in Washington, finding that nearly every school in the state failed to differentiate between effective and ineffective teachers and principals.
Assessment
Value-Added Testing Now Ruining County Fairs?
So I bet you never stopped to consider the effects of teacher-evaluation reform on county fairs. I can't say that we have, either, but apparently this has become a not insignificant matter in the town of Carrington, Ohio.
Teaching Profession
Can Value-Added Models Handle the Transition to the Common Core?
Sociologist Aaron M. Pallas says that we may soon begin seeing wide descrepencies in student test scores across districts as a result of the Common Core State Standards.
Teaching Profession
Principal's Value-Added Score Oops
A Florida middle school principal accidentally emailed her teachers' evaluation scores to the entire school staff--value-added measures and all.
Assessment
Opinion
John Thompson: The Gates Foundation Leapt, Now MET Looks
What would have happened if the Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) research had been conducted before the "Billionaires Boys Club's" preferences were codified into law in Race to the Top and the Department of Education's NCLB waiver requirements? How would their final report, "Ensuring Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching," read if its findings were reported before value-added evaluations were imposed on the nation's schools? Even if the same researchers had used the same methodology and made identical findings, how would that evidence have been presented?
School & District Management
Opinion
A Few Thoughts on MET
When we calibrate all of our other instruments based on their ability to predict value-added gains on reading and math assessments, we build our entire edifice of teacher quality on what strikes me as a narrow and potentially rickety foundation.
School & District Management
Tackling Special Education Teacher Evaluation
For several years now, teacher evaluation has dominated education-policy discussions--but for the most part, the country's 430,000 special education teachers have been left out of the discussion.
School & District Management
Details Hazy on L.A. Teacher-Evaluation Pact
The Los Angeles school district and the city's teachers' union have reached a tentative agreement about the conditions of a new teacher evaluation system, putting an end to months of court-ordered bargaining.
School & District Management
Take It From Tennessee: Lessons on Teacher Evaluation
At a session on teacher effectiveness at yesterday's Excellence in Action National Summit in Washington, Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman offered some lessons learned for legislators and state leaders looking to implement revised teacher-evaluation systems. The information he presented may be instructive for educators as well, since Tennessee was one of the first states to go down this perilous road.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
John Thompson: New Research Uncovers Fresh Trouble for VAM Evaluations
Guest post by John Thompson.
As more and more schools implement various forms of Value-Added method (VAM) evaluation systems, we are learning some disturbing things about how reliable these methods are.
As more and more schools implement various forms of Value-Added method (VAM) evaluation systems, we are learning some disturbing things about how reliable these methods are.
Assessment
Opinion
Is Seniority for Teachers Bad for Students?
Yesterday's post challenging the ability of some education reform "liberals" to shed core values such as support for unions, desegregation and the institution of public education apparently hit some sensitive nerves. In particular, Chris Arnold, whom we recently saw praising the "parent trigger" movie "Won't Back Down," took me on via Twitter. You may recall that Mr. Arnold caught some flak for initially failing to disclose his affiliation with The New Teacher Project, a Gates-funded non-profit that has pushed hard for "reforms" in teacher evaluation.
Ed-Tech Policy
Opinion
John Thompson: Gates Foundation's MET Project Has Leaped Before Looking
Guest post by John Thompson.
The Measures of Effective Teaching Project (MET) is the Gates Foundation's flagship effort to fill what they believe is a huge void in the teaching profession. According to them, up until this project, there was no way to know how effective any given teacher is. Their goal has been to develop scientifically accurate means to accomplish this.
The Measures of Effective Teaching Project (MET) is the Gates Foundation's flagship effort to fill what they believe is a huge void in the teaching profession. According to them, up until this project, there was no way to know how effective any given teacher is. Their goal has been to develop scientifically accurate means to accomplish this.