Needs Improvement
Former DC principal and whistle blower Adell Cothorne says don’t believe the hype about IMPACT.
The verdict is in and the results are unanimous: Washington DC’s IMPACT teacher evaluation system is a smashing success, successfully separating the highly effective wheat from the underperforming chaff—and sending the latter scrambling for the exits. But former DC principal Adell Cothorne warns the system’s cheerleaders to cool their jets, arguing that the system was deeply flawed from the outset, and that the most important lesson we can learn from IMPACT is not to repeat its mistakes. Here’s a look.By Adell Cothorne
No doubt you’ve heard by now that Washington DC’s IMPACT teacher evaluation system is *highly effective.* Before we start popping the champagne corks though—or encouraging other districts to adopt IMPACT-like systems—allow me to tell you a few things about the system that you may not have heard.
No doubt you’ve heard by now that Washington DC’s IMPACT teacher evaluation system is *highly effective.* Before we start popping the champagne corks though—or encouraging other districts to adopt IMPACT-like systems—allow me to tell you a few things about the system that you may not have heard.
1) IMPACT is a system that can easily be manipulated
I was a principal in a Washington DC public school when IMPACT was being rolled out. I knew of other principals who had their secretaries fill out the complex teacher
I was a principal in a Washington DC public school when IMPACT was being rolled out. I knew of other principals who had their secretaries fill out the complex teacher
