Good news!
The Washington State Senate, rejecting federal bribes and threats, voted NO to evaluating teachers by student test scores. The fact that this method has failed wherever it was tried may have influenced their decision. Also, the state senators may have been aware of the research showing the utter failure of this way of evaluating teachers, which reflects who was in the class, not teacher quality.
Sorry, Arne!
Here is the story:
“OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Education officials say the state will be limited in the way it can spend about $44 million in federal dollars after the Senate on Tuesday turned down a proposal that would have mandated the use of statewide standardized tests in educators’ evaluations.
“Senate Bill 5246, which failed by a 28-19 vote, would have revised the state’s new teacher-principal evaluation system to accommodate a demand from the federal government to mandate using statewide standardized tests as a factor in evaluations.
“Washington state has a waiver from provisions of the so-called No Child Left Behind law. It could lose the waiver and some federal money by not changing the current law, which only suggests the tests be used in evaluations instead of mandating them.
“Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, said she voted against the bill because using state tests to measure student growth has not been proven to be an effective way to judge teachers.
“Nationwide we are a leader in the teacher-principal evaluation system,” she said. “Why would we allow the federal government to break a system that is working?”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Wow! I wonder how Ed Secretary Bill Gates will react?
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He’s probably broken out in hives by now.
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Now if more state Reps thought the same way.
“Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, said she voted against the bill because using state tests to measure student growth has not been proven to be an effective way to judge teachers.
“Nationwide we are a leader in the teacher-principal evaluation system,” she said. “Why would we allow the federal government to break a system that is working?”
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Nice to know that there is one state which seems to have its head on straight. Oregon has been a leader in several vital areas.
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Fantastic!! Let’s hope that this post reaches the ears of Cuomo and the rest of the idiots who are clueless to education.
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Bravo! We got Sue Peters onto the Seattle Public School Board and we no longer have a corporate dominated board. I’m hoping to see same type of push-back from Seattle Public School’s board.
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And here is the lyrics to the theme song of the day thanks to John Mellencamp:
“And the Walls Come Tumbling Down
You don’t have to take this crap
You don’t have to sit back and relax
You can actually try changing it
I know we’ve always been taught to rely
Upon those in authority –
But you never know until you try
How things just might be –
If we came together so strongly
Are you gonna try to make this work
Or spend your days down in the dirt
You see things can change –
YES an’ walls can come tumbling down!
Governments crack and systems fall
’cause Unity is powerful –
Lights go out – walls come tumbling down!
The competition is a colour TV
We’re on still pause with the video machine
That keep you slave to the H.P.
Until the Unity is threatend by
Those who have and who have not –
Those who are with and those who are without
And dangle jobs like a donkey’s carrot –
Until you don’t know where you are
Are you gonna realize
The class war’s real and not mythologized
And like Jericho – You see walls can come tumbling down!
Are you gonna be threatend by
The public enemies No. 10 –
Those who play the power game
They take the profits – you take the blame –
When they tell you there’s no rise in pay
Are you gonna try an’ make this work
Or spend your days down in the dirt –
You see things CAN change –
YES an’ walls can come tumbling down!
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Good for them, I hope there are more success like this one
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Wait, doesn’t Bill live in Washington? Better things for his employees and their children’s teachers, eh?
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We are holding our collective breath for the next few weeks – it could come back up before the session is over. There are some legislators who are determined to push this through. Keep your fingers crossed!
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Teachers in Washington you are so lucky!
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They have however found other ways, for now, to evaluate teachers in Washington which is based on student growth and assessments. So while we take a big sigh of relief of the potential elimination of VAM, they have found other wishy-washy procedures to take place of it. Don’t be fooled. They aren’t going to let teachers off that easily.
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Jon, as a WA teacher on the comprehensive TPEP (teacher & principal evaluation–forget what last “P” stands for), I agree with you. Our legislators remind me of a horribly under qualified principal who told me many years ago,”I know good teaching when I see it.” But she couldn’t articulate what she meant because she didn’t know. Thankfully, she’s gone, so maybe there’s hope?
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Stay tuned. Governor to meet with Uncle Arne :gov-inslee-us-education-secretary
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Always good to vote for a governor who can run a bulldozer. Especially when there’s some haz waste like VAM that needs to be removed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcQBn55FNng
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Don’t get excited about Inslee. He just engaged in high level politics and helped throw Boeing machinists under the bus. He exerted outside pressure on machinists nd helped with a campaign to eliminate defined pension plans; he is not to be trusted.
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You know, when at a Title 1 school, we are unable to have clearly emotionally disturbed children appropriately classified- and I am talking about children who could be described as nearly feral- and therefore unable to secure the services they so desparately need- I am not buying your tune. I have been in those circles. I am familiar with those “theories”, and I wholeheartedly reject them.
When I am forbidden to even write an email suggesting that a student of mine may need testing or special services, I have no fear of a government wanting to take over parental roles and responsibilities.
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4equity2,
Testing is more than fine.
Using it to sanction teachers or punish them, their administrators, and schools is unscientific and unacceptable.
Teachers must guarantee excellence in teaching and professionalism, but that is not at all the same thing as guaranteeing a test score. The two are not to be mistaken for each other.
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Hope I did not mislead. I could not agree with you more!
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Glad one state is coming to its senses.
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Why does arrogance follow big money? Gates and the other people who think they can control the world because they have money are as delusional as any other dictator trying to control the masses.
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We can only hope this sweeps the nation….
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As Ellen noted above, we are still on pins and needles. The failure of this measure to pass in the state Senate SHOCKED many, especially author of the bill Sen. Steve Litzow, who thought he had the votes to pass it. Several supporters of the bill were swayed by testimony of teachers, principals, superintendents, and others who provided solid reasons for rejecting the notion of evaluating teachers using state tests that were not designed to show student growth in any case, the fact that 84% of our teachers do not teach subjects/grades tested by state tests, and the 35% margin of error in the VAM correlations. HOWEVER, we STILL have Reps in the state House who thought the bill would pass to them and are determined to have some version of this bill re-emerge for their consideration. Unfortunately, this includes some of our generally supportive Dems who feel that we just can’t risk the potential loss of the NCLB waiver. We must not let down our guard for one minute! We must educate our legislators about the damaging effects of this bill. We must not have any word “MUST” in the TPEP law relating to the use of state tests to show student growth, and tie these scores to teacher evaluations in any way, shape, or form.
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