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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Joy Resmovits: NYC Teachers' Free Pass? Charter School Lobbying Changes: Ed Today

Joy Resmovits: NYC Teachers' Free Pass? Charter School Lobbying Changes: Ed Today:


NYC Teachers' Free Pass? Charter School Lobbying Changes: Ed Today

NYC Teachers' Free Pass? The Wall Street Journal crunched eight years worth of data, and found that more than 10 percent of principals did not flunk one teacher on their evaluations. "The findings give ammunition to Department of Education officials who say the teacher-rating system should be changed," WSJ's Lisa Fleisher writes. "New York City is one of a handful of school districts statewide that hasn't adopted a new, more nuanced system of grading teachers. ... Under the current system, teachers are either rated unsatisfactory or satisfactory. Annually, less than 3% of teachers citywide are marked 'unsatisfactory.'"

But... This may be true but I would caution all reformers from singing Hallelujah and waving this data in unions' and lawmakers' faces before doing some more reading. Even if you accept the premise that evaluations are a key lever in changing our schools, this isn't necessarily the proof you need to make your case. States across the country have been implementing "new, more nuanced" systems of teacher evaluations, and according to thisEducation Week story, the results aren't all that different. Under these new systems, Michigan rated 98 percent of teachers effective; in Florida, it was 97 percent; and 94 percent in Georgia. (Proponents say true change in differentiating teachers by skill will take time but my point is, the numbers aren't dramatically different just yet).


Farewell, Allon Former teacher Tom Allon is leaving the New York City mayoral race, reports the Daily News.