If Teacher Quality Matters then So Does the Teacher Evaluation Process

Back in November, Elissa Gootman wrote an article for the New York Times that rankled the folks at both the city and national teacher union level. Gootman reported on an announced effort of the Bloomberg administration to begin the process of removing unsatisfactory teachers from the classroom.

As part of that process, the mayor reportedly hired a new team of lawyers and consultants to help principals develop the appropriate paper work that would enable the city to remove tenured teachers who were not up to the task of teaching. In addition that same legal team would help principals develop a proper case against poor performing teachers that had not yet earned tenure.

The team of legal experts and consultants would essential play two critical roles. First and foremost they would help principals develop improvement plans for struggling teachers. Subsequently, if those teachers failed to improve, those same experts would help the principals develop the legal documentation required to remove those poor performers.

Though the plan will reportedly cost the City more than $1 million a year, the recent clarity regarding the importance of teacher quality in the classroom makes it is easy to see why the Bloomberg administration is taking steps to ensure each child in New York is receiving instruction from a quality teacher.

The Union and a Student Weigh in on the “Gotcha Squad”
Not too surprisingly, Randi Weingarten, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, referred to the lawyers as a “teacher gotcha unit.” She also said she found it “disgusting” that the Education Department issued a written memo explaining the steps that were to be taken to ensure poor teachers would be removed.

Shortly after the article was released, a student by the name of Toni Bruno responded to the news thus:

If teachers are constantly under the threat of removal, their creativity and autonomy as teachers will be lost. However, spending three years on probation as a teacher (the current requirement for receiving tenure) is not an appropriate way of determining whether or not a teacher can be easily fired or not. Instead, all teachers should have equal rights and protections. A system should be imposed which allows all teachers to be fired based on very strong evidence that they deserve it. I agree with the idea of a committee - made up of lawyers and also administrators from many schools - to determine whether or not a teacher should be fired in given circumstances. The reasons should be based on a failure to teach the basic concepts required for their course, and only after warnings and chances to rectify this.

But Bruno also wrote:

A teacher should be fired for unlawful, inappropriate or dangerous behavior. If a teacher has a strong bias that actually keeps them from addressing all the content, that is the only reason why their personal opinions should be considered in whether or not they are allowed to teach.

Teachers deserve job security, but principals, with the approval of objective judges, should be able to remove any teacher that does not serve the best interest of the children.

Common Issue in Many States
Though much has been made about the situation in New York, a recent set of articles has appeared within the State of Tennessee. The recent controversial Johns Hopkins report labeled 37 of the state’s high schools “dropout factories.” Adding to the issue is the fact that two of the districts that spend the greatest amount of money on students, Nashville and Memphis, are two of the worst performing.

Gov. Phil Bredesen is taking a similar stance as Bloomberg, that quality teachers make the biggest difference in educating children. In Tennessee state educational data indicates that a full 68 percent of the variation in student performance can be attributed to teacher quality.

However, Bredesen’s preference is to end the current teacher pay practices that equate salary with longevity and replace that practice with a structure that will pay according to performance. His thinking appears to be that if poor teachers do not receive salary increases, those teachers may leave of their own volition.

What Makes a Great Teacher
A recent article for the BBC News by Mike Baker attempts to tackle the question of what makes a great teacher. The answer to this question is surprisingly difficult and Baker begins right away with this simple statement:

Sometimes the simplest questions in life are the hardest to answer.

He further explains the other critical component that dogs education to this day. The fact is that we do not have a “unanimous answer” to that most important of questions.

Baker points out that teachers “with the highest qualifications are not automatically the ‘best’ teachers in the classroom.” But an interesting thought within the Baker article is the fact that “the highest quality teaching and learning comes when teachers have the greatest autonomy for the teacher and the learner.”

Therefore, one can easily see how the concept of a prescriptive formula for improvement can be soundly rejected by a teacher and the union that supports that teacher. The autonomy piece also rejects the notion that teachers should teach a lock step, national curriculum within their classrooms. Instead, good teachers respond to the students and their needs first and foremost.

However, the Baker article notes one of the key aspects of quality teachers. Such individuals possess an ability to reflect on their own performance and then to change it.

A New Definition is Emerging
Through the work of Rick and Becky DuFour and their promotion of a concept called Professional Learning Communities, there is now a major shift in looking at teacher performance. The couple advocate that administrators not focus on the teacher and what he or she is doing. Instead the focus should be on the children and what they are learning.

The Dufour’s seek to put an end to the concept that a well-managed, orderly classroom demonstrates quality teaching. They also address the caring and loving teacher who children enjoy being around by asking what are children learning while with that individual. At the same time they also seek to put an end to the notion that a teacher who espouses creativity and curiosity over all else also should not always be necessarily seen as a quality teacher.

The bottom line for the Dufours is that children must learn. Does the well-managed classroom equate to actual learning? If not, then teacher performance must be addressed. The caring mother or father figure is not enough for the Dufours, those caring folks must bring about learning for children. Lastly, open creativity and curiosity without some measure of balanced discipline might also be less than children deserve, if the children are not in fact learning.

Move to Examine Student Performance
With that theory in mind, the use of student tests scores is likely to become a larger and larger piece of the teacher evaluation process. In fact, that is precisely where the recent discussion has gone in New York State.

Even though individual student motivation and intellectual capabilities impact such scores, the classroom teacher clearly has the ability to affect those scores as well. But if scores are to be used, then one factor is critical, student growth must trump any actual score given a student. For example, teachers given a number of students who are above grade level at the beginning of the school year cannot be ranked on final scores in the same manner as teacher given a number of students below grade level at the beginning of the year.

To fairly assess, the scores will have to be looked at in a comparison manner to determine student growth. Those scores will also have to be compared to the intellectual capabilities of the student. In fact, a passing mark or a failing mark could both be essentially meaningless in determining teacher quality depending on where the child began the year and what the child has for intellectual ability.

If scores are to be used, evaluators must keep such progression factors in mind. But, if such factors are kept in mind, then student test scores could be appropriately be used as one piece of the evaluation process.

Bloomberg on the Right Track
Ultimately, the most important aspect in the entire discussion is the push by the mayor to provide poor performing teachers help at the same time as holding them accountable for improvement in the classroom. Such a step is indeed paramount to ensure that all children receive a quality education.

With a proper focus on both teacher development and a demand for accountability, New York schools, in fact all schools, can begin to ensure that every classroom is staffed by a high-quality teacher. New York’s children deserve as much from their elected officials and those entrusted with their education.

And given the difficult and expensive process of removing poor performing teachers it is easy to see why Bloomberg has assembled his group of attorneys and consultants. In fact, he has likely taken the most important step to date to ensure that quality does emerge within the city.