Tennessee Teacher Evaluation Systems - Rough Road Ahead

According to Sarah Garland, of the Huffington Post, states, like Tennessee, aided by hundreds of millions of federal and philanthropic dollars, are developing intensive evaluation systems meant to identify teachers who need help, and pinpoint which skills they need help with. Under a state law passed last spring in Tennessee, teachers must be formally observed at least four times a year, or six if they're new to the profession. A teacher's observation scores are supplemented by a "value-added" rating, which is calculated by determining whether a teacher's students made greater gains on standardized tests than statistical models would have predicted.

However, the road ahead is bumpy for teacher evaluation. Because value-added ratings don't come out until after the school year is over—and because the majority of teachers don't teach subjects with annual standardized testing—the revamped observations have become a major piece of the reform effort.  

Call for Nominees - 2012 Excellence in Educational Leadership Award

The UCEA Executive Committee is accepting nominations from UCEA Member Institutions for the 16th Annual Educational Leadership Award, in recognition of practicing school administrators who have made significant contributions to the improvement of administrator preparation.

Click here to download the Call for Nominees and Nomination Form.

The deadline is Mar 12, 2012.

View the latest webinar: "How School Districts Support Effective Leadership Practice"

UCEA and its partner the Wallace Foundation are proud to bring you a free webinar series highlighting research and exemplary practice in leadership preparation.

Click here to view this webinar.

School leadership often has been overlooked as an education improvement strategy, despite the evidence that leadership influences student achievement.  In this webinar, panelists shared their research findings and examined district-level conditions that improve the effectiveness of school principals.  Panelists also discussed how to develop effective university-district preparation partnerships.

Click here for future webinars.

Principals' Time Devoured by New Teacher Evaluation Requirements

An article in The Christian Science Monitor reports that school principals, including some who back more rigorous review of teachers, are balking at education reforms required by Race to the Top. New teacher evaluations are all-consuming, they say. 

"Mistaken Idea... Assessment Drives Results"

An article in the Huffington Post, cites the work of Carnegie President Anthony Bryk: American school superintendents have it tough these days. High turnover rates in urban school districts are just one indication of the often impossible-to-satisfy demands coming at them from all sides. Misguided approaches to school accountability are a key culprit. High-stakes evaluations based on student test scores put excessive stress on students, set unrealistic expectations for their parents, drive teachers to cut curriculum corners, game the system, or even cheat, and suck the satisfaction out of teaching in and leading schools. Such "accountability" systems isolate superintendents, rather than nurturing the ties to the broader community that are vital to helping our most troubled schools and students succeed. According to the article, "the problem starts with the mistaken idea that assessment drives results." Viable accountability systems must first build capacity to improve teacher and school leader effectiveness. In seminal school reform research, Anthony Bryk and his colleagues at the Consortium on Chicago School Research liken "turning around" troubled schools to baking a cake -- five key ingredients, including school leadership and quality instruction, must interact to enable real, sustained progress. Using test results to drive teacher and leader effectiveness is akin to poking the raw batter with a toothpick. Which is why it hasn't worked and is not going to.