Performance anxiety.
Good for the nearly 100 Chicago university professors and researchers who signed a letter to Mayor Emanuel criticizing the plan to use student scores on standardized tests to evaluate CPS teacher performance.
This is a version of the plan that is required of all school districts throughout Illinois as a result of PERA, the Performance Evaluation Reform Act. PERA, written by a committee appointed by Governor Quinn and headed by IEA Executive Director Audrey Soglin, was adopted by the Illinois General Assembly so that Illinois could qualify for Race to the Top funds. The state failed to receive the grant. But, the law remains.
The letter to Rahm was released at a press conference yesterday in Chicago. The letter makes three points: