This practice of evaluating teachers by the scores of students they never taught in subjects they don’t teach is absurd. In New York City, more than half of all teachers are judged based on work they didn’t do.

Teachers in Florida went to court to challenge it, the state court judge said it was unfair but not unconstitutional. That judgement was as nonsensical as the evaluation method.

“Just over half of New York City teachers were evaluated in the 2015–16 school year, in part, by tests in subjects or of students they didn’t teach, according to data obtained by Chalkbeat through a public records request.

“At 53 percent of city teachers, it’s significant number, but substantially lower than in previous years, possibly thanks to a moratorium placed on using state tests, instituted mid-year.

“That figure also highlights a key tension in evaluating all teachers by student achievement, even teachers who work with young students or in subjects like physical education. Being judged by other teachers’ students or subjects has long annoyed some educators and relieved others, who otherwise might have had to administer additional tests.

“Supporters say evaluating teachers by group measures — often school-wide scores on standardized tests — helps create a sense of shared mission in a school. But the approach could also push teachers away from working in struggling schools.”

Ironically, evaluating teachers based on the scores of students they did teach is also invalid, because other factors–beyond the teacher’s control–like home life, family income, etc.–affect test scores more than the teachers.

Evaluations based on test scores have proven to be unreliable and invalid. They have been thrown out in several courts. They have been found wanting by major scholarly association.

VAM is a zombie Policy.