Thoughts On Chicago Teacher Strike

Teachers Walk Out On Strike!

The emotions of a strike are sure to supersede the rational negotiations.  However, this struck me as interesting:

Lewis said among the issues of concern was a new evaluation that she said would be unfair to teachers because it relied too heavily on students’ standardized test scores and does not take into account external factors that affect performance, including poverty, violence and homelessness.

I’ve often encountered this line of reasoning when discussing teacher evaluations.  First, I find it unfathomable that an educated group of experts who routinely adjudicate proficiency of very subjective materials find it completely out of the realm of possibility to measure the effectiveness of teachers themselves.  Second, if they are unwilling to allow themselves to be measured on their effectiveness based on poverty, violence and homelessness, can we expect them to adjust grades so that such impacts are taken into account?

For example, I’ve heard that teachers won’t accept performance based measurements because, “a dog may be barking during the test.”  Yet, are these same teachers willing to change the test scores of those kids subjected to the barking dog?

Utter nonsense.

 

6 responses to “Thoughts On Chicago Teacher Strike

  1. You bring up a good point. I know that when I subbed at one of the lower income schools, it was a workout. I suppose that is the challenge of teaching….or being a good teacher.

    • I know that when I subbed at one of the lower income schools, it was a workout.

      Oh for sure. Teaching is a tough row.

      I suppose that is the challenge of teaching….or being a good teacher.

      I think we should pay good teachers well. I also think that we should evaluate them.

  2. Yes, they do need an evaluation. Here in FL, I think they made it a little more fair as they took into consideration more than just the FCAT scores. Thankfully, my son is at a charter school and the teachers are contracted and evaluated on a year-to-year basis.

    • I think they made it a little more fair as they took into consideration more than just the FCAT scores.

      Hey kells, the idea behind the evaluation isn’t to judge a teacher by the kid’s scores THIS year, it’s to see if the kids improve or regress, as a whole, over the next 2-3 years! It’s a highly effective method.

  3. Pino ,

    Just how do you evaluate a teacher who may be getting a class full of kids already ruined by poor teachers in prior years ?

    • Just how do you evaluate a teacher who may be getting a class full of kids already ruined by poor teachers in prior years ?

      There are statistical methods that allow the tracking of the progress of kids who’ve had specific teachers. The idea being that an excellent teacher will have prepared kids for further grades in school. So those kids having a great 2nd grade math teacher will experience better math scores in 3rd and 4th grades. When enough kids are taken as a whole, think 30-60-90 kids, patterns emerge and proficiency emerges.

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