Experts Are Heard on Use of Student Test Scores

I have written many times about the unreliability of student test scores as measures of teacher effectiveness and the absurdly convoluted processes that are often used in order to include student scores in every teacher’s evaluation.  Now, you can read for yourself in this excerpt from an article in Salon, written by Jeff Bryant.

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/01/worse_than_michelle_rhee_teachers_and_public_schools_have_a_shocking_new_enemy/

“In many of these states where supposedly under-performing teachers have been spotted, there are numerous anecdotes (1) that the labeling has been either highly questionable or blatantly mistaken. Teachers in Florida (2), for instance, have their performance rated using the test scores of students they’ve never even taught.”

1. http://dianeravitch.net/2013/11/16/new-yorks-teacher-of-the-year-is-not-rated-highly-effective/

2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/15/teacher-i-was-evaluated-with-test-scores-of-students-i-dont-have/

“Most of the flaws in these teacher evaluation systems stem from their reliance, in varying degrees, on student test scores – a criterion, by the way, that teachers unions have often accepted in their negotiations with management.”

“As Education Week’s Stephen Sawchuk (3) recently reported, the American Statistical Association, “the world’s largest community of statisticians (4),” examined the practice of basing teachers’ performance evaluations on students’ standardized test scores and warned against this approach.”

3. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2014/04/statisticians_group_issues_sta.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

4. http://www.amstat.org/about/index.cfm

“Reflecting on the new ASA study referenced above, education journalist Valerie Strauss (5) wrote on her blog at The Washington Post, that current teacher evaluation methods of evaluating teachers “purport to be able to take student standardized test scores and measure the ‘value’ a teacher adds to student learning through complicated formulas,” but “these formulas can’t actually do this with sufficient reliability and validity.””

5. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/13/statisticians-slam-popular-teacher-evaluation-method/?wprss=rss_education&clsrd

“So the designation of “ineffective teacher” remains by and large arbitrary.”

“In fact, one of the students testifying for the plaintiff identified an “ineffective” teacher who had previously been awarded Teacher of the Year and who had been lauded by numerous of her students on a school-made video.”

Writing at the blogsite of education historian Diane Ravitch (6), the teacher, Christine McLaughlin, explained that the student making the accusation had “stated that every teacher she had in [her school district] from fifth through ninth grade were ‘bad’ teachers. Except one! The one that recruited her to join this lawsuit. He had his agenda because he was RIFed [let go due to a reduction in force policy], and he did not like the system. I was moved into his position (I was RIFed that year too).”