Wednesday, December 8, 2010
NYC Set to Release Teacher Ratings
I just finished the Teacher Magazine article, "Showdown Nears on Release of NYC Teacher Ratings", http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/12/07/391410usteacherdata_ap.html?r=172937046, which details the efforts of the New York City teacher's union to stop the publication of teacher performance ratings. The school board chancellor, Joel Klein, doesn't see a problem with releasing the ratings, stating "We aren't naive about the impact this release could have on our teachers, ... "which is why we hope that no one misuses the data or views it as an opportunity to scapegoat teachers." Objectors state that if students see the ratings, they could use that information to harass teachers and that parents whose children are in the classrooms of low rated teachers will want to be transferred out. Of course, the matter in Los Angeles where a teacher committed suicide when his sub-par rating was released is weighing heavily on many minds. What do you guys think? Should what is basically your performance review be released to the public? Should anyone's? I don't mind the idea of school rankings and test results being made public knowledge, but I don't like the idea of individuals being subjected to public scrutiny.
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Scary glimpse at the future?
ReplyDeleteIf this system is as subjective as the teacher union in New York says, I'm very much against the idea of releasing ratings. Even if an objective system was devised, I would still lean towards not posting such ratings, for the same reasons as cited in your post. There are far too many variables (SES, ability level, etc) from district to district for this to be a fair intiative.