Teachers won't be judged on end-of-year tests under revamp
COLUMBIA, S.C.
Teachers won't be judged by their students' scores on end-of-year tests under a proposed revamp of South Carolina's educator evaluation system.
State Superintendent Molly Spearman announced her proposal this week following Congress' overhaul of the No Child Left Behind education law, signed last week. The new federal approach to accountability no longer ties teacher evaluations to results on statewide testing, allowing South Carolina to change course.
Spearman wants to work with educators to develop a new evaluation system that instead incorporates tests taken throughout the school year. Districts would have leeway in which tests they use.
The idea is to design an evaluation process that's helpful to teachers instead of one written to meet federal requirements, said Kris Joannes, director of the agency's office of educator effectiveness.
"The intent is to give ongoing feedback to teachers instead of a system that invokes fear in high-stakes tests," she said Tuesday. "Looking at student growth is right, but we're going to do it thoughtfully" and develop useful training.
Teacher advocates said the proposal provides relief after years of angst over evaluations that over-emphasize results on end-of-year standardized tests.
"Evaluations should not be based on how a child does on one test on a particular day," said Kathy Maness, director of the Palmetto State Teachers Association. She said the proposal benefits students too by easing pressure on them "to do well on one particular test. It's better to look at the whole student than a snapshot."
The evaluation system's statewide implementation this school year coincides with new education standards as well as new statewide tests, adding to anxiety over the evaluations'Teachers won't be judged on end-of-year tests under revamp | The Herald:
