Policy 2.0: Education : 2009 : October

Eduflack paints the bigger picture

Posted by Catherine Cullen Oct 29, 2009

Over on Eduflack, Patrick Riccards juxtaposes Hope Street Group's new report, "Policy 2.0: Using Open Innovation to Reform Teacher Evaluation Systems" with the Forum for Education and Democracy's broader look at teacher effectiveness.

This is a great way to kick of the conversation of "what else?" What else should we prioritize as we work to ensure an effective teacher heads every classroom? Improving teacher preparation? Incentivizing teachers to work in low-performing schools to address inequitable distritbution?

If we can get to a point where we can identify effective teachers, what should we do next?

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Using Open Innovation to Reform Teacher Evaluation Systems: Highlighting Recommendation 1

Posted by Catherine Cullen Oct 28, 2009

Recommendation 1 from "Policy 2.0: Using Open Innovation to Reform Teacher Evaluation Systems" is that Objective measures of student achievement gains must be a major component of teacher evaluation.

This seems like a no-brainer, yet to often attempts to include student achievement data in teacher evaluation lead to arguments over fairness, accountability, and goals.

Teachers want to be accountable for student growth, but measuring it in a comprehensive way is complicated. The team came up with several potential measures, including:

• value-added data from standardized tests (where available)
• student work, including performance criteria and evidence of student growth
• teacher-generated information about student goals and growth
• formative assessments
• objective performance-based assessments
• assessments of affective engagement and self-efficacy

Join the discussion in The specified space was not found. to share your thoughts on the report and to help spread the word.

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Innovative New Haven Teacher Contract Heralds Change

Posted by Catherine Cullen Oct 21, 2009

New Haven teachers have agreed to a contract featuring some agressive reform, including tougher evaluations and fewer protections for underperforming teachers. The contract is being praised by reformers and union leaders alike, creating a promising model going forward. Check out the Wall Street Journal, Ed Week's Sawchuk, or the Yale Daily News for more.

1091 Views 0 Comments 1 References Permalink Tags: teacher_effectiveness, aft, tap, wsj, randi_weingarten, new_haven

NAEP Math Scores Are In (But Not Up)

Posted by Catherine Cullen Oct 14, 2009

Math scores for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (sometimes called the "Nation's Report Card") are in, and scores for 4th graders have been flat since 2007. The test also indicates that the size of our racial achievement gap has stayed the same since 2007.

NAEP is one of the best tools we have for looking at state and national performance over time, and lots of folks will have things to say about what these results mean about 2001's No Child Left Behind Act (the Elementary and Seconday Education Act) and its upcoming reauthorization.

Check out the results yourself here, or read Sam Dillon's take in the New York Times or Libby Quaid for the AP.