A group of expert researchers have published a new collection of articles about teacher evaluation and high-stakes testing and their consequences.
The collection appears online in the Teachers College Record. It is called “High-Stakes Teacher Evaluation: High Cost, Big Losses.”
You will recognize the names of many of the contributors. (I wrote the foreword, the least significant part of the volume.) This collection provides solid research evidence demonstrating that the teacher evaluation practices promoted by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are not only worthless but harmful. Sad to say, his advocacy for these misguided policies have been adopted in many states and may well damage American education for many years to come.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
An excellent argument for why we should not allow econometricians and their algorithms to decide what happens in our schools! Their pre-conceived notions are faulty.
Love your comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
Ditto
Does this collection suggest that is time for teacher evaluation tied to high-stakes testing to VAMoose?
. . . the missing it . . .
I have only read the conclusions of the articles in this TC Record but note…
One theme / compelling message: VAM is nowhere close to ready for prime time!
Second theme: Teacher evaluation has lost its way.
Third theme: Don’t pass (or negotiate) laws, then convene the practitioners and on the ground implementers
AMEN, Jere.
Hi Diane, I recently(over the past few months) have subscribed to your blog. You are doing an enormous favor to both children and educators by continuing to use your position of power to expose the the realities of politics and corporate involvement in the destruction of our public education system.
I am a special education IEP teacher with the NYC Dept of Education since 1974. No, I haven’t retired yet (smile), still feeling I have something to contribute. The fact that you have not let up on the true nature of the assault on public education, coupled with your unwaivering support of teachers touches my heart. You could have long since retired yourself and kept silent on this issue. You have chosen not to. Your continuing work is making great headway, so today, this one’s for you. I want to give you a heartfelt shoutout and a “thank you” for being there. Have a lovely rest of the day.
Yours truly, Pam Pruyn IEP Teacher PS 43 Queens.
Welcome, Pam!
I am quite sure that with your experiences that you will have a lot to offer. Please add your thoughts to the eclectic mix that is the Diane Ravitch blog. Look forward to reading them!
Duane
VAM…
More proof that corporate education reform is about control, and not empowering children.
FroThis is the central problem (tragedy) with treating education as a production/manufacturing industry instead of a coping organization (what organizational theorists call education). The goal of a production industry is to reduce variation in processes in order to manufacture a product that customers are certain will perform according to expectations/specifications. In a coping organization you are confronted with uncertain inputs, uncertain processes, and uncertain outcomes. Added to the inability to control inputs, processes, and outcomes, what parents are looking for in schools are instructional programs that increase variation in outcomes—further develop the unique abilities, talents, and interests of their children. For this reason, as Deming attempted to point out, but which our school leadership and political class still don’t understand, is that managing a production industry and managing a school require entirely different set of intellectual and organizational tools. Not understanding the fundamental differences between manufacturing and educating is the reason that all the intellectual and organizational tools—merit base, standards, standardized testing, curriculum alignment—that the Duncan’s, Rhee’s, are implementing will fail, and in fact will result in the dysfunctional outcomes Deming describes in his books—cheating, drop outs, early exiting of teachers, etc. I would add, that the set of intellectual and organizational tools that school leaders require to lead a coping organization—schools—are not taught at all in administrative certification programs.m Alan Simpson in a previous post:
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Apply this to the fundamentally flawed concept of VAM:
“Not understanding the fundamental differences between manufacturing and educating is the reason that all the intellectual and organizational tools—merit base, standards, standardized testing, curriculum alignment—that the Duncan’s, Rhee’s, are implementing will fail, and in fact will result in the dysfunctional outcomes Deming describes in his books—cheating, drop outs, early exiting of teachers, etc.”
I watched Duncan on the sad orchestrated “questions” on google plus on Wednesday. He is a sociopath. Almost completely expressionless. With some kind of learning disability. Perhaps brain damage.Perhaps just a simple lisp. He is a perfect fall guy though. One does not have to set him up. He will reliably do bad and stupid things. Which draws the heat from the chief implementer. Obama may want to fire him but anyone has to know that that position is now designed to take the heat. Even Duncan has his wife in a cushy job I’m guessin pulling down half a million from a school contractor. Most would not be so risky as to try – that- and so no upside to the job.