Friday, April 13, 2012

"Just Effective": Is that good enough? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

"Just Effective": Is that good enough? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

"Just Effective": Is that good enough?
by 

After a conversation with my friend Don Bartalo, a school superintendent and instructional coach, on how it feels to have the teacher evaluation process and norms shifted under your feet, he offered this excellent reflection:
By Don Bartalo:
Well, it won't be long before we are reading more articles like this one, written by Elizabeth, a high school English teacher from Florida.
Elizabeth was very upset about her most recent annual evaluation. No surprise that the source of her anxiety is her state's new legislative mandates and methods for evaluating teachers. Since most states are heading down the same road, we might be able to learn Bart.jpgsomething from her experience.
Elizabeth was devastated when she received an "effective" rating (second highest in the new system) saying that she was "merely put into purgatory" (temporary punishment in lieu of rising to highly effective). Naturally, Elizabeth was hoping fo