Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Valid Questions for DC IMPACT

Valid Questions for DC IMPACT

Valid Questions for DC IMPACT



It’s no secret that 206 teachers were fired last Friday in Washington, DC, including 65 teachers who earned a rating of “ineffective” on the District’s controversial evaluation system, IMPACT. DCPS fired an additional 141 teachers who scored “minimally effective” for a second consecutive year.

While it’s commendable that 55% of teachers rated “minimally effective” last year improved to “effective,” I wonder about other trends between this year and last. What percentage of “effective” teachers moved to the highest category? And what about the 65 teachers who were scored as the least effective? Who were they? Veterans or rookies? For those who were teaching in DCPS last year, what was their IMPACT score? Did some of these teachers change schools or grades in the last year? Did any teacher move from an “effective” rating to “ineffective?”

DCPS has provided some of this information in its IMPACT report, but more is needed. For example, 663