Nearly 4,000 Rhode Island teachers are protesting a new evaluation system. Test scores and other measures of student progress will affect the rating that Rhode Island teachers receive this year as part of a national effort to improve student achievement. The Providence Journal reported that some teachers worry that student progress will count too heavily toward their ratings. They argue that student improvement is not entirely in their control, because it also can be linked to a student’s motivation and home life. Superintendents and principals also say the evaluations are too time-consuming and cumbersome. State Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist backs the system, but has approved a plan by Providence schools to temporarily reduce the emphasis on the more contentious aspects of the evaluations.
Providence
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Value added evaluation systems, including VAM (value added model) and SGP (student growth percentile) have been proven as junk science by any reputable statistician who is not hired by corporate interests. One year a teacher can be "super", the next "in need of improvement". The science suggests that flipping a coin to evaluate educator effectiveness would be a BETTER indicator than the corporate junk science being fed to our children. Furthermore, flipping a coin would not have the deleterious "side effects" that our current "reform" systems encounter. These side effects include ulcers for teachers, competition induced lack of teacher collaboration, "problem" student segregation, cheating, narrowing of the curriculum to Pearson et al., segregation academies where poverty pimps charge districts "service fees", and finally, Social Studies, Science, Art, Music, and Physical Education dismissed for children who need "intervention". This is the new "status quo". Don't worry though, Big Pharma (who helps bankroll these "$ave the Children" reforms) is working on a cure for these side effects that comes in a golden pill. Maybe they feel guilty for the OC epidemic? Just maybe...