Evaluations earn an 'F'
Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 08:00 AM.
The children of fictional Lake Wobegon from Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” were said to be “above average.” The same can be said of Florida’s public school teachers — if the state’s new evaluation system is to be believed.
It isn’t.
Credit the Florida Education Association for being consistent. Union officials and members didn’t moderate their opposition to the system even after the first round of results released last week showed that an astounding 96.5 percent of the state’s 130,000 teachers rated as being “effective” or better. Indeed, the unrealistically high figure only bolstered the FEA’s contention that the state is using unreliable and inaccurate data to judge teacher effectiveness.
The new system is part of the education reforms passed in 2011. Beginning in 2014, the evaluations will determine teacher salaries