Grading teachers on test scores: Column: "Grading teachers on test scores: Column"

Grading teachers on test scores: Column

For teachers, standardized tests scores can vary from year to year and class to class.

(Photo: Jason Lenhart, AP)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Obama's Race to the Top program ties evaluations to test results.
• But studies have shown unintended consequences that have nothing to do with quality of instructor.
• This is a nationwide, politically motivated movement to blame teachers for achievement gap.

Signs exhorting students have been springing up at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., where I teach English. "Keep Calm and Crush the Test" is my favorite.

The state's standards of learning exams have beentaking place all week, and the results carry significance not only for the students but for teachers as well.

The test results could mean some seniors will not graduate, others will get token diplomas marked "modified standard," and the reputation of the school, which the state and federal governmentlabeled persistently low three years ago, could be further sullied. And this year, Virginia, like many states, raised the testing stakes even higher: 40% of teachers' evaluations will be based on their