I can't think of a realistic way to evaluate a teacher's performance. It would be like trying to evaluate the work of a painter before his work has seen public eyes.

It's not something you can apply rules to it. Let alone era-shifting standards.

 

What about adjusting teacher pay based on performance, judged by national standard tests that the students take?

That would further promote "teaching the test" as it's referred to around here. If I'm not mistaken, our school districts already receive funding proportional to the scores on the standardized test, hence it's purported that the students are only taught (or at least the there is a very heavy focus on) the material that's likely to be on the test. Some view it as a problem, other don't. The main argument that I've heard against it is that it doesn't encourage free thought and problem solving skills, only rote memorization. I'm not an expert but I tend to agree with that sentiment.

 

What about adjusting teacher pay based on performance, judged by national standard tests that the students take?
.

May be wrong about this but, I think thats what has happened to teaching here in the US. Instead of teaching kids how to learn, the kids are only taught what will be on the standards test.

Used to be that it didn't matter so much that you made it clear through the text book by the end of the year. Some teachers would encourage other discovery along with the book. Made learning exciting and fun. Not about passing the "standards".

 

Problem is many schools are expected to improve results every year, even if they stay the same, they can be labelled as a failing school.

Thus, more and more time is spent on memorising stuff for the test.

I can tell you that from current experiences.

 

Problem is many schools are expected to improve results every year, even if they stay the same, they can be labelled as a failing school.

FAIL. This is the mentality in the U.S. Navy too. "always leave room for improvement" is what senior sailors will advise, jokingly, but it's true. If you show up to a new command and perform to the best of your abilities from day one, your evaluations will suffer, as your level of improvement is between evaluation periods is more of a consideration than your level of performance with respect to your peers. If you're a top performer and you have a bad day, you're chastised more than the the divisional slacker who's best day is worse than your worst day.

 

I can't think of a realistic way to evaluate a teacher's performance. It would be like trying to evaluate the work of a painter before his work has seen public eyes.

It's not something you can apply rules to it. Let alone era-shifting standards.

agreed, they tried it here in FL and was a total disaster. Teachers kept complaining why should we be penalized cause these kids parents are non existant and don't make them do homework, can't even help with their homework, and have to pay for their own supplies. Just after 1 years of this happening here like 700 veteran teachers took early retirement.

 

You give them a cap and gown have a prom,off to college with

a $40,000.00 minimum loan,some thing to pay back for the next forty

years.

 

"Teaching the test" ... oh how that phrase is worn out.

In Texas, this is the first standard in 10th grade Algebra ...

STAAR Algebra I Assessment

Reporting Category 1:Functional Relationships The student will describe functional relationships in a variety of ways.

(A.1) Foundations for functions. The student understands that a function represents a dependence of one quantity on another and can be described in a variety of ways. The student is expected to

(A) describe independent and dependent quantities in functional relationships; Supporting Standard

(B) gather and record data and use data sets to determine functional relationships between quantities; Supporting Standard

(C) describe functional relationships for given problem situations and write equations or inequalities to answer questions arising from the situations; Supporting Standard

(D) represent relationships among quantities using [concrete] models, tables, graphs, diagrams, verbal descriptions, equations, and inequalities; and Readiness Standard

(E) interpret and make decisions, predictions, and critical judgments from functional relationships. Readiness Standard

I don't see any "test questions" in that standard.

More on the Texas standards visit http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/

Yes I know there are "sample" questions available on that website, so if the teachers are "teaching the test" they are teaching the sample tests. If they teach to the standard, there should be no problem with the tests. I would have to see the curriculum outlines and lesson plans to see what a teacher is teaching.

 

I graduated Texas high school in 2004. We had the TAAS test (obsolete now). I remember hearing that phrase while I was in school, and yes, teachers were handing out practice tests as homework assignments. I don't know what happens in the classroom now, if it's the same or if they no longer do it, but I can attest that they were "teaching the test" in 2004.

 

Look at it this way ... the teacher doesn't know what is on the test, only what the standard is. If they give you "assessments tests" to measure your command of the subject they just taught, they "could be" trying to find out, much in the same fashion as we do in the homework section, where you might be having trouble.

I'm sure you could look at any circuit and come up with multiple questions you could use on an "assessment test", That is the bane of measuring against a standard.

On the collegiate level, you have the course sylabus. You are paying money for the professor to teach and if your not getting the value you deserve, you should be talking to the head of the department. They could tell you to STFU and just hand over your cash ... but I doubt they could handle the onslaught PR problem they will receive.

I've known an interim dept head who hired an adjunct professor to teach "Statistics using Excel." The first words out of the adjunct's mouth was he wasn't going to use Excel. Over 300 bucks for that course ... and yes, the money was gladly refunded. You get what you pay for. Of course if your on a Pell Grant, you might not care as it's "not your money" per se. It's the taxpayers money.

I know the TAAS test was replaced with the STAAR test. Personally, I think if a teacher is "teaching the test" they need to be fired. For them to "teach the test" the test must be compromised. For the test to be compromised, it takes more than one person involved ... and that's a conspiracy.

If the teacher doesn't know what the "standard" entails ... bring them up to speed. ITV ... Interactive Teaching ... shouldbe deployed. I know teachers who taught in three counties in western oklahoma a subject using ITV. The technology is available and we pay a tax ... I mean fee ... added to our phone bill to cover the technology upgrades. That was the Al Gore tax of 1996, implemented by the FCC in 1997.

 

What about adjusting teacher pay based on performance, judged by national standard tests that the students take?

In many industries the quality of the final result rises significantly when pay incentives are introduced. However in teaching the teacher gets exactly the same pay even if they are hopeless and their students don't learn a thing... There's little or no incentive for the teacher to "give a damn".

The biggest problem with this idea is that all students are not the same. One year you might have a really bright bunch and the next year a box of rocks. Obviously, the tests will reflect the differences in students and not a difference in teaching. We have tried looking at students' performances "over time", but this takes a lot of time and effort that many schools aren't willing/can't track. Also, we have a lot of students who move into the class at various times of the year and must take the state exams even though they may have been in the school district for only a couple weeks. Obviously, this is not "fair" to have this student's accomplishments (or lack of) posted on the teacher's "scorecard". I won't get started here on all the difficulties with home-schooled students or students from radical private schools who suddenly appear in the regular classroom and erroneously think they are above level when in fact they are sorely lacking in thinking skills involving non-routine problems so I'll stop here.

 

What about adjusting teacher pay based on performance, judged by national standard tests that the students take?

In many industries the quality of the final result rises significantly when pay incentives are introduced. However in teaching the teacher gets exactly the same pay even if they are hopeless and their students don't learn a thing... There's little or no incentive for the teacher to "give a damn".

Then you have teachers giving the tests to students before the test so they get good money. Also this would leave teachers who have the hardest job of teaching underprivliged innercity kids making $20k a year and teachers in upscale area's making $40k a year for nothing more then coming from a homelife where the parents cared. We should not take out our frustrations of the lack of parenting on our teachers. Thats my opinion.

 

That would further promote "teaching the test" as it's referred to around here. If I'm not mistaken, our school districts already receive funding proportional to the scores on the standardized test,
.

This is not correct for Missouri. If a school is "failing" to meet standards, they can be taken over by the state, but funding is not based on the test results. Things like % of students below poverty can give you a boost. The formula for funding public schools in Missouri is very complicated and has not been "fully funded" for many years. The result, even though we are promised X dollars, we get X - Y dollars to operate on.

 

Most governments spread the "dollars" acrossed all their agencies. If the dollars aren't all there, everyone gets X-Y to operate on.

I can remember in the late 80s being told we're cutting your budget 10 percent ... deal with it. And no, I'm not a teacher or a school administrator.

 

Here in FL we did the test run for salaries matching test scores and had almost all our senior teachers take early retirement or just quit to go into another field. I've seen it first hand. Plus the kids are dumber then ever.

 

*than ever.

 

*than ever.

I'm south of the mason dixon so my then was correct.

 

I doubt the Mason Dixon means much to a lad from Cambridgshire.

 

Florida has taken over failing schools,and has changed laws.

More charter schools have been approve, some charter schools

are run by business men,C.E.O.s.

 

Give their business is the future of this country, not necessarily a good thing. Kids are not a product, though some folk try to treat them as such. There has been a major trend to regiment kids in middle school, but they are not military. You need to give children play time, it is as important as learning time.

I tend to agree that most of our problems are cultural. Teachers are not the problem, but they are part of the solution.

Having said all of that, I have met some incredibly dumb teachers historically. How they got their jobs was a mystery to me, then and now.