In a brilliant post, Bruce Baker of Rutgers demonstrates that states are imposing teacher evaluation systems that are flawed.
This is what Arne Duncan and Bill Gates demanded, and this is what states are doing. And it is wrong, it is factually wrong.
Who will hold Duncan, Gates, and all those state officials accountable?
Chris Cerf in New Jersey and John King and Merryl Tisch in New York assure the public that the evaluation systems will work because they take many factors into account. But Baker demonstrates that they are wrong. The evaluation systems are fundamentally flawed and they will not work. They will do damage to schools, principals, teachers, and students.
Baker writes:
“The standard retort is that marginally flawed or not, these measures are much better than the status quo. ‘Cuz of course, we all know our schools suck. Teachers really suck. Principals enable their suckiness. And pretty much anything we might do… must suck less.
WRONG – it is absolutely not better than the status quo to take a knowingly flawed measure, or a measure that does not even attempt to isolate teacher effectiveness, and use it to label teachers as good or bad at their jobs. It is even worse to then mandate that the measure be used to take employment action against the employee.
It’s not good for teachers AND It’s not good for kids. (noting the stupidity of the reformy argument that anything that’s bad for teachers must be good for kids, and vice versa)
On the one hand, these ridiculous rigid, ill-conceived, statistically and legally inept and morally bankrupt policies will most certainly lead to increased, not decreased litigation over teacher dismissal.
On the other hand… The anything is better than the status quo argument is getting a bit stale and was pretty ridiculous to begin with.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
From: Steven Norton <sjnorton@miparentsforschools.org >
Date: Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 5:01 AM
Subject: Time to stop playing games with school funding – budget options range from bad to worse
Time to stop playing games with school funding – budget options range from bad to worse
Let’s play
Fibbing or Funding
The only game show where your school always gets less than your children deserve!
Pick a door to reveal your “prize”!
Door #1 – Snyder Plan
Door #2 – House plan
Door #3 – Senate plan
Districts LOSE between $2 and $32 per pupil
Claimed 2% increase is mostly money taken from a “cookie jar” which had been diverted earlier when cuts were even bigger
Sneaks in parts of the “Oxford report” by forcing districts to pay for up to two online courses per semester with no say over the provider, what “successful completion” means, or what kind of credit to award.
Commits an extra $10 million to Michigan Virtual University, and basically makes an $8 million “gift” to the EAA to support “student centered learning”
Districts LOSE between $18 and $52 per pupil
Eliminates best practices grants, which went to most districts
Gives more money for performance and tech grants, which serve many fewer districts
Penalizes districts which recently opened their contracts
Cuts the increase to Great Start, making 4,200 fewer openings
Also sneaks in the “Oxford report” provisions
Districts LOSE between $18 and $102 per pupil, on average
Eliminates help to local districts with their pension system costs, and uses a smaller amount to give a foundation increase to all districts – which is a windfall for charter schools, which mostly are not in the pension system (they’ll get an increase)
Puts $22 million in an “education reserve fund” instead of giving it to our students
Eliminates both best practices and technology grants
Also sneaks in the “Oxford report” provisions
Total spending even less than the Governor!
We need to stop playing games with the schools that serve our children and our communities. Shifting money around to make cuts look like tiny increases is simply disrespectful to the people of Michigan.
Here are some facts they want us to forget:
* Spending on K-12 education has fallen 18% over the last twelve years, once you factor in inflation
* Even after taking a smaller number of students into account, it has fallen 9% over twelve years
* It’s not all the recession – we’re spending a shrinking share of our state’s economy on education, in good times or bad.
Tell your legislators and the Governor that we need to stop playing games and do right by our children and our state! We need to give school the resources they need to do what we ask them to do.
Speak out today!
Steven Norton
Executive Director
Michigan Parents for Schools
There seems to be a “school of though” that punishing (rightly or wrongly) adults for perceived short-comings has no impact upon children.
Nothing could be more misguided.
Just as punishing a poor mother and father because they lose their jobs is detrimental to the health, nutrition, education, and ability to contribute to society, so is punishing teachers for things that are beyond their control.
Someone with influence needs to make a huge point that, if we wish to improve the academic standing of U.S. children, attacking schools and teachers is NOT the answer. Someone needs to make it a priority to be sure that these children who have the Right to Life actually do have a Life.
I am sick of the current condescending attitude that everyone who is in poverty or jobless is inferior and worthless, overlooked and disdained. These children need FOOD and nurturing, not drills on test taking!
Who are they trying to kid????
Diane, Without defending the idea of using standardized tests to assess the quality of each individual teacher, can you cite an example of an advocate for improving schools who wrote, “It’s not good for teachers AND It’s not good for kids. (noting the stupidity of the reformy argument that anything that’s bad for teachers must be good for kids, and vice versa)”?
It appears that this assertion comes from Bruce Baker. You labeled his post, which contained this assertion, “brilliant.” I will ask him too. Thank you.
Sorry, my last question was not clear. I’m wondering about an example of a person advocating for changing schools who asserts that “anything that’s bad for teachers must be good for kids and vice versa.”
If Beverly Hall is indicted so must John King, Meryl Tisch, Arne Duncan, Bill Gates, and Eli Broad…
Frustrating use of public dollars to help students with special needs – are private unmonitored contractors providing this kind of service in your state? (I think high quality early childhood ed is a great idea – but this isn’t.)
This nincompoopery has been going on for what – a dozen years or so since NCLB?
What does “status quo” mean again?
If you replace “status quo” with “public education” … it always makes sense.
Accountability, like taxes, is for the little people.
Once again statements of fact with no “Solution for a proper Outcome.” In politics, which this all is, if you do not have a solution for the problem don’t say a thing as you are irrelevant.
We make things happen in multiple fields not just education. How do we do that? We present solutions to problems to politicians who can write the bills and implement changes. Have any of you really been involved in the dirty process of Politics? It does not seem to me that most have. We have a track record.
Diane, are you aware of the battle between the Christina School District and the Delaware DOE? Recall that the First State was first to be named a RTTT “winner”. Part of the RTTT plan included, of course, teacher evaluation based on test scores, and teacher incentives. Math and ELA teachers (only), in schools identified by the state as high need (only) are eligible for bonuses of up to $10,000.
The state DOE, as well as our governor purport that this is to draw and retain the best teachers to the neediest schools.
A teacher awarded the bonus must transfer to one of these schools if not already there, and commit to two years.
The teacher evaluation process is rife with problems- deserving of public attention in and of themselves, and unproven. The incentive program fails to address how these teachers will be retained and incentivized after the two year program ends.
The Christina School Board, the district Superintendent, and the Christina Education have stood firm against the adoption if what was introduced as a “voluntary” program. The state had responded by withholding over 2 million in RTTT funds, and crying “shame on the Christina School Board”, for not doing what’s best for our poorest children.
The News Journal has partaken of the DOE Kool-aid, and joined in the onslaught with a vitriolic editorial in today’s edition.
What’s interesting here is that the Public Information officer of the DOE was formerly the education reporter for this paper. She and the current education reporter worked together on the same college newspaper.
There seems almost to be no way to honestly inform the public of the facts. And no way to stand up to the bullying DOE without being tarred and feathered.
I can’t fathom HOW to change things… I’m no politician… BUT… I do know one thing… “the state of an organization reflects the state of the leader’s mind…” (from the book The Tao of Leadership). I’ve seen it over and over. .. and I have found this to be true about the way the world works. The fundamental flaw with Michelle Rhee’s actions is that she doesn’t allow compassion to enter into her decisions (her own words/thoughts from “The Education of Michelle Rhee”). This is why the business model does not work in education… education is a HUMAN SERVICE… we are NOT numbers. When working with people, compassion must be the root of decision making. Due to the nature of human relationships, there is a “trickle down effect.” When the principals are put under undue stress (where their livelihood is at stake – which in turn taps into the survival mode trigger in the brain), they will put the teachers under undue stress (survival mode again), and they will in turn put the children under undue stress… and imagine what THAT does to a developing mind that’s constantly under stress… actually, no need to imagine… there are brain studies that show how long term stress alters brains (for the worse). Doing what’s good for teachers is inseparable from what is good for students…. which is why doing what’s BAD for teachers CANNOT be good for the children. There’s a fundamental flaw in all of it if the belief is that you can have one without the other.