Teacher Effectiveness 'Here to Stay'

By Fawn Johnson


The day after Chicago public school teachers returned their classrooms, a group of educators and researchers from around the country convened in a sunny conference room in Washington D.C. to ponder the very questions that had so recently vexed the Windy City. Where are we as a nation with teacher evaluations? Are we evaluating the right things? What role should student data play in professional development? What about employment decisions?

"I think the issue of teacher effectiveness will be here to stay," said Joanne Weiss, chief of staff to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, at a seminar on teacher evaluations sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Obama administration has deliberately incorporated teacher evaluations into a full range of federal incentives, including No Child Left Behind waivers and Race to the Top competitive grants. They want to start the conversation about what the teacher talent base looks like and how we measure it. The answers are unclear.

"It is a scary time, a lot of unknowns," Weiss of said of Chicago strike, which hinged in part on a new evaluation system for teachers. But the idea of making a professional judgment about whether someone is effective is not new. "This is what human resources looks like," she said. The difficulty comes in creating a process that measures effectiveness accurately but also takes into account the intangibles of good teaching.

Teachers want to be treated as professionals. They don't shy away from evaluations--in fact they embrace them--as long as they know that the people observing and judging them truly understand what is going on in their classrooms. That's the point of this video developed by Teach Plus and Carnegie, using interviews from Teach Plus policy fellows who have worked under new evaluation systems in the Washington D.C. and Memphis, Tenn.

Policymakers are only just beginning figure out the nuances of how to go about making real judgments about teachers and schools. The discomfort shouldn't stop the progress. "When in fog, walk forward," Weiss said.

What do we know now about teacher evaluations? What questions remain unanswered? Where should researchers and teacher-evaluation designers focus their attention? What should educators do with imperfect measurements? How much variation can be tolerated before the broader system loses credibility? Where does professional judgment come into play? How much trust needs to be built with teachers first?

Teacher Evaluation and Seamus
By Kevin Welner

Since it’s campaign season, I figured it might be fun to respond to this question using an extended metaphor, with teacher evaluation policy playing the role of Gov. Romney’s Irish Setter, Seamus, and policy makers (including Pres. Obama’s EdSec Arne Duncan) playing the role of Gov. Romney.

In reading on, please remember that I’m trapped here in a “swing state,” subjected to a barrage of distorted photos of candidates overlaid with announcers’ voices portending our collective doom should we vote for the other guy. So bear with me for a bit; hopefully this will resonate even with the non-brain-addled in the non-swing states.

The Seamus story is well-known, at least to regular readers of Gail Collins’ column in the New York Times. The Romneys went on a family vacation, which included a 12-hour drive to Canada (Lake Huron). Seamus, the family dog, was put in his crate and strapped to the roof of the station wagon. The trip was carefully planned, down to specified rest stops. But Seamus fouled up the plans a bit when he expressed his displeasure in liquid fecal form, thus soiling himself and his surroundings. So Mitt Romney had to stop and hose down the dog, crate and car. They all then continued on their way. Seamus survived and, according to Gov. Romney, he “loves fresh air” and continued to like car rides, even up there in his crate.

In writing this, I can’t help but note that this all took place in the summer of 1983—the same year as “A Nation at Risk.” Coincidence?? (I’ve really got to get away from these campaign commercials…)

So how is teacher evaluation akin to Seamus? Just as the Romney family and Seamus needed to get to Canada one way or the other, we can all agree that we need good systems of teacher evaluation. The question is how we get there. Our “reformer” friends have come up with an efficient plan: use statistical growth models based on students’ test scores. Let’s strap teacher evaluation to the kids’ tests! What could go wrong?

Plenty, it turns out. This option comes with many serious weaknesses and unintended consequences. The research tells us that “lawmakers should be wary of approaches based in large part on test scores: the error in the measurements is large—which results in many teachers being incorrectly labeled as effective or ineffective; relevant test scores are not available for the students taught by most teachers, given that only certain grade levels and subject areas are tested; and the incentives created by high-stakes use of test scores drive undesirable teaching practices such as curriculum narrowing and teaching to the test.”

But since nobody can come up with an alternative that is as efficient in generating concrete numerical rankings, we stumble (or drive) forward. Even when the brown muck starts to drip down the windows, we merely perform a quick clean-up and continue on our way.

Gov. Romney’s car trip was well-planned and was executed with an unyielding emphasis on efficiency. And at the end of the day, he and his family made their way to Lake Huron. But, notwithstanding Gov. Romney’s protestations to the contrary, it seems unlikely that Seamus or any other dog in that situation would come back wanting more. Yes, the careful planning and efficiency of the trip were remarkable, but there are less stressful and unpleasant ways for a dog to make that 12-hour trip—ways that aren’t as likely to lead to undesirable, unintended consequences.

This, lord help me, is what I’m thinking about when I consider the current push for more effective teacher evaluation systems. My conclusion is we should indeed go on that trip. But let’s invite our teachers and their evaluation systems inside the station wagon, and let’s plan the trip with a complete understanding of how best to get from Point A to Point B.

Last week, the NEPC published a 3-page brief explaining the importance of balanced evaluation approaches that include all stakeholders in decision-making about evaluation systems. Not easy. Maybe not even efficient. But we won’t have to stop mid-way through to get out the hose.