A Young Teacher’s Voice: The Devastating Effects of Evaluation by Common Core Test Scores
The other day I received this email from a South Side graduate who became a teacher. This young woman is brilliant–just the sort of person we want in our profession. She is presently teaching in a Washington DC high school. Read how she describes the effects of the evaluation of teachers by test scores, especially since the Common Core arrived.
I have protected her identity, because sadly, that is what must be done in times like these. Read her story and share it. How can anyone claim that students benefit from these reforms?
Good Morning Dr. Burris,
I am not sure if you remember me, but I was a student at SSHS. I went on to become a teacher and started my career right out of college at a high school in Washington DC. In the four years since, I have seen what education reform has done to teaching and learning.
While I did not have any experience as a teacher prior to the introduction of common core, I have seen enough to know that this used to be a different game. My first year of teaching, I felt incredible. I worked in a school for students who struggled in mainstream classroom environments due to emotional or behavioral issues, but I had managed to figure out a way to reach them and make them excited about learning. I found texts that not only challenged them academically, but also encouraged them to change the way they looked at the world. I taught them the foundation skills they were missing and maintained a level of rigor throughout each lesson.
I was evaluated by my principal, assistant principal, and two “master educators” (unknown persons who show up in your classroom unannounced whenever they please). I received a score of highly effective, which was to come with great A Young Teacher’s Voice: The Devastating Effects of Evaluation by Common Core Test Scores | Round the Inkwell:
