Teachers Evaluations: Testing the Limits
New requirements for on-the-job evaluations having Tennessee teachers fleeing the classrooms, according to this story from the Tennessean.
I think we can all agree that it's not an unreasonable request to have public employees face some form of professional scrutiny. But teacher evaluations are particularly swampy territory.
A few weeks ago I had an interesting conversation with Dale Ballou, associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University, where he specializes in the role of regulations and incentives in teacher training and retention. I asked him people were putting too much stock in teacher evaluation models as a means of improving the quality of instruction. Here's what he said:
"You’ve got to recognize these are not flawless instruments. Anytime you try to evaluate an individual based on this kind of data, there’s a possibility you’re going to make a mistake. People are overselling these methods and