Rating teachers: Ruining the profession and running off good people
With teacher ratings becoming a reality, many people are expressing concerns about the impact on the profession. I read two great pieces this weekend that I want to share here. (Also, please read the...
View ArticleAtlanta explains how it calculates value-added scores. Using scores for...
I ran a letter a few days ago from the principal of an Atlanta charter school expressing concerns about the value-added scores assigned to his school. Atlanta is looking at both teacher and...
View ArticleTeacher power: Key education votes elsewhere in America
While there’s been a lot of attention in Georgia to the charter school amendment passage, there were major education issues decided elsewhere in the country. John I. Wilson, a long-time special...
View ArticleA charter school renewal discussion today by Atlanta school board shows that...
In the charter schools discussion of late, I’ve mentioned that charter schools don’t necessarily close when they fail to meet their contractual academic goals. And we had an example of that today when...
View ArticleCan we really measure effective teaching? Yes, says new Gates Foundation study.
After three years of research and an investment of $45 million, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation believes it now knows how schools can fairly and reliably measure effective teachers. While...
View ArticleIf testing and measuring makes for better schools, why are the Obama girls in...
The Obamas opted for a pricey private school for their daughters. (AP Photo) In a powerful essay in Education Week, retired educator Alan Jones of Illinois shares his experience accompanying his...
View ArticlePencils down and dukes up: Two views of the growing anti-testing campaign...
Two views of the growing organized resistance to standardized testing: From the Chicago Teachers Union, which is distributing an anti-testing petition today: As part of its “Pencils Down” campaign...
View ArticleWhere are the voices of teachers in DeKalb mess? Here is one and he’s not...
A DeKalb teacher sent me this piece, noting that none of the blog commentaries on the crisis in DeKalb have come from teachers. I suspect teachers all over the country will agree with his comments...
View ArticleNew Race to the Top teacher evaluations with strong reliance on test scores...
As expected, House Bill 244 passed both the House and the Senate, incorporating the educator evaluation system piloted by Georgia’s Race to the Top districts into state law. With the Senate vote this...
View ArticleFormer Atlanta school chief Beverly Hall and 34 others indicted in APS...
Former Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall was among 35 people indicted today in APS cheating scandal. (AJC photo) Among those named in the indictment handed down tonight by a Fulton County grand jury...
View ArticleSeeing teachers as technicians ignores what else they give students:...
Spurred by federal policy, many states, including Georgia, are moving to teacher evaluations that consider student progress on tests. But a rising chorus is challenging the reliance on testing to...
View ArticleState moves away from using test scores to assess schools but moves closer to...
Since we are talking about standardized testing related to the teacher letter in an earlier blog today, I want to share a good AJC piece by my colleague Nancy Badertscher. I recommended some experts...
View ArticleDid Michelle Rhee ignore her own cheating scandal? A new memo suggests clear...
Michelle Rhee speaking to Georgia lawmakers last year. (AJC Photo) PBS education reporter John Merrow writes about the erasure analyses, clear evidence of cheating and concealment of that evidence. No,...
View ArticleAtlanta’s grades on ‘Nation’s Report Card’ at odds with CRCT cheating scandal
Marshall S. Smith is a former under-secretary in the U. S. Department of Education. Nominated by President Bill Clinton, he served from 1993 to 2000. Prior to his appointment as Under Secretary, Smith...
View ArticleFlorida teachers file lawsuit today to stop evaluations that rely on test scores
The controversy over basing teacher evaluations on student performance now moves to a courtroom in Florida after teachers there filed suit today contending the review process violates their rights....
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