Student Growth Still a Critical Factor in Teacher Evaluations
The backlash against using student test scores to evaluate teachers continues to gain momentum, with Georgia among the latest states changing their policies. In a unanimous vote, the Georgia State Board decided to diminish the role of student test scores. Before the vote, student performance made up 50 percent of teacher evaluation outcomes. With the change, it will make up 30 percent of a teacher’s score. The...
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School Districts Explore New Forms of Teacher Evaluations in 2017
In New York City, school officials are launching new teacher evaluations that place a higher priority on students’ classroom work over test scores. Meanwhile, the Connecticut State Board of Education is debating whether to delay a proposal that would require teachers to be evaluated based partly on student test scores. Similar scenarios are playing out nationally as school districts set out to improve the...
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Why are our Best and Brightest Students Not Choosing to Become Educators?
School districts across the nation are continuing to report a growing shortage of teachers as teachers are jumping ship in record numbers. According to a national survey of college freshman conducted in 2016, “the number of students who say they will major in education has reached its lowest point in 45 years.” Source: Cooperative Institutional Research Program, Higher Education Research Institute,...
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How to Improve Accuracy & Effectiveness of Teacher Evaluations
How effective are your teacher evaluations? Are they being conducted according to the universal guidelines set out by your school district? It’s possible that they are not being conducted accurately. That was the finding of a consulting group that analyzed the evaluations conducted for Idaho’s school systems. The review revealed that 99 percent of its teachers underwent evaluations that were completed...
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How to Define What Really Matters When Evaluating Teachers
When recounting our childhood experiences, it’s not common for many of us to quickly cite a favorite teacher who made a difference in our lives. Defining what made those teachers memorable comes easy to many of us. Perhaps, one teacher was hard on his students — pushing them to excellence. Another may have devoted hours after school to make sure her students “got” it. Other teachers just had a way of making...
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