Unwelcomed Evaluations by Teachers Nationwide Essay

Throughout history, education reformers worldwide have attempted to strengthen the ranks of public schools and find, train, and measure good teachers in a variety of ways. Many states have adopted teacher evaluation systems based on student test scores largely to receive federal Race to the Top grants or waivers from No Child Left Behind. These evaluations are mostly unwelcomed by educators nationwide, due to the unfair and ineffective consequences that have resulted from the evaluation systems. Under the new system, each teacher and principal will receive an annual professional performance review (APPR)which will be rated as â€Å"highly effective,† â€Å"effective,† â€Å"developing,† or â€Å"ineffective.† (New York State Board of Regents). The†¦show more content†¦Additionally, a majority of the standardized tests that would be used in teacher evaluations today, which are statewide tests required by NCLB, focus on low-level skills such as the restatement of information and on only a few subjects, primarily reading, math, and science. They don’t measure more advanced skills such as expository writing or an ability to think creatively or analytically, and they bypass history, art, music, and other subjects. Therefore, the teachers that have a wider teaching repertoire and are able to engage students beyond the basics, are at a disadvantage when standardized test scores are used as part of the evaluation. Furthermore, there are many factors that have strong influences on student learning gains, including the influences of previous teachers, tutors, family resources, family mobility, the quality of curriculum materials and class size. (2013 Economic Policy Institute). In fact, factors other than the teacher account for roughly 85-90% of the variation in students’ test scores, while teachers account for only 10-15% of the variance in scores (Strauss 2012). Therefore, handing teachers high ratings merely if thei r students have high test scores would create many miscalculations of teachers’ true capabilities. An example of this can be shown from the