In one of what is likely to be a tidal wave of lawsuits, the Tennessee Education Association sued the state because a teacher was denied a bonus based on the state’s flawed evaluation system.
“The Tennessee Education Association (TEA) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Knox County teacher who was denied a bonus under that school system’s pay plan after Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) data for 10 of her students was unknowingly attributed to her.
“TVAAS is Tennessee’s system of measuring student growth over time. It generates data based on student test scores on TCAP and end of course tests.
“In this specific case, the teacher, Lisa Trout, was assigned TVAAS data for 10 students after being told her evaluation would be based on system-wide TVAAS data because she taught at an alternative school.
“The TEA lawsuit cites two different memos which indicated that Ms. Trout could expect an evaluation (and bonus eligibility) to be based on system-wide data. At the conclusion of the school year, Ms. Trout was informed that her overall evaluation score, including observations and TVAAS data was a 4, making her eligible for a bonus under the Knox County pay plan.”
The system, the suit alleges, is arbitrary:
“The TEA goes on to contend that Ms. Trout and similarly situated teachers for whom there is little or no specific TVAAS data are held to an arbitrary standard in violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“Specifically, the suit notes: ” … the majority of teachers in the Knox County Schools … have had their eligibility for additional compensation (under the APEX bonus system) determined on the basis of the test scores of students they do not teach and/or the test scores of their students in subjects unrelated to the subjects they teach.”
“The suit alleges that such a system violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because some teachers are evaluated and receive bonuses based on the scores of their own students while other teachers are held accountable for students they do not teach and over which they have no influence or control.
“In short, the entire system is flawed and should be discarded.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Praise the Lord and pass the popcorn!
BRAVO! CARRY ON!
VAM: The Scarlet Letter. A talk given to the School Board of Palm Beach County, FL.
awesome presentation!
Yes, this is just the beginning.
The first of a long line of dominoes.
Yes, I agree.
I have asked about the unfairness of this system for a long time and only got blank stares from state officials or an answer that assessments for non tested areas will eventually be developed. There are some good aspects to the evaluation system in TN, but assessing teachers on students they do not teach defies all logic and common sense. Surely TEA will win this one, and this time I hope they do.
As a Knox County Teacher, I was frustrated that, though my kids grew a LOT, they were expected to grow, so I didn’t get as high of a score as the scores said. When I tried to push to get the system to explain this, they told me it was correct, and to stop asking questions. If my job is on the line, could you please explain to me my scores?
Finally, a beginning.
amen to that. Just throw it out and start over please.
I hope this sets a precedent that can be duplicated in other states. The deformers won’t be able to hold their fingers in the dikes. And I hope a whole bunch of people are swept up in the lawsuits. I say name the superintendent him/herself in the lawsuit for endorsing such an unfair system.