With union backing, D.C. Council introduces proposed overhaul of controversial teacher evaluation system
The District’s controversial teacher evaluation system could face significant changes under proposed legislation that would give the teachers union substantial input in the system’s design during collective bargaining.
The evaluation system — which was one of the first in the nation to tie teachers’ job security and paychecks to class performance — has been central to the District’s high-profile education efforts over the past decade and is one of the more controversial legacies of former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Rhee, who led the District’s public schools between 2007 and 2010 and gained national recognition for her overhaul efforts, enacted the evaluation system without negotiating it with the union. The implementation of the evaluation system, known as IMPACT, led to the firing of hundreds of teachers and produced heightened tensions between the school system and union that persist today.
If passed, the proposed legislation could be the biggest change to the evaluation system since its adoption.
Supporters of IMPACT argue the evaluation system allows schools to fire ineffective teachers who linger in their jobs for years with little accountability.
Davis said she still wants ineffective teachers punished but believes IMPACT often results in the firing of competent instructors or young teachers who have not had an opportunity to develop.
If the school system unilaterally created a separate evaluation system, it could not be used to punish teachers under terms of CONTINUE READING: With union backing, D.C. Council introduces proposed overhaul of controversial teacher evaluation system - The Washington Post
