Gates Foundation urges delay in using tests for teacher evaluation
The Obama administration is resisting mounting calls for a moratorium on using student test scores to evaluate teachers, students and schools.
On Tuesday, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested more than $200 million to create, support and implement the Common Core State Standards, said states should hold off from using new standardized tests aligned to the Common Core to evaluate teacher performance.
The foundation joined the two largest teachers unions in calling for a two-year moratorium while students, teachers and school systems adjust to the new standards.
“The standards need time to work,” Vicki Phillips, who heads the foundation’s K-12 program, wrote in an open letter. “Teachers need time to develop lessons, receive more training, get used to the new tests, and offer their feedback. Applying assessment scores to evaluations before these pieces are developed would be like measuring the speed of a runner based on her time — without knowing how far she ran, what obstacles were in the way, or whether the stopwatch worked!”
The Obama administration, which has championed the use of student scores to evaluate teachers, rejected the idea.
A top official with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation urged states to delay using Common Core test results to evaluate teacher performance.Read it.
“A blanket moratorium is not the best approach — just as a one-size-fits-all timeline is not the best solution,” said Dorie Nolt, a U.S. Department of Education spokeswoman. “We believe the most thoughtful approach is to work state-by-state to see what support each state will need, and not to stop the progress states have already made, or slow down states and educators Gates Foundation urges delay in using tests for teacher evaluation - The Washington Post:
