Teacher Evaluations Still to Be Negotiated
The publication of a series of articles on teacher evaluations in the Los Angeles Times has generated a huge firestorm of controversy. On the one hand are the “reformers” who believe the time is past due for a complete revamp of teacher evaluations, and on the other are academics who express serious concerns about using test scores to measure something for which they were not designed.
But what many forget is that teacher evaluation methods in California must be negotiated between teachers and management.
In fact, all contracts and their provisions, are negotiated by these groups. Today’s latest fad is the Value Added Measure (VAM), and as of today, in spite of the publication of a teacher database online, it is still not a part of
