Every student needs to be well prepared for life and the work force. Studies show that students with good educations get better jobs, are happier and live longer. Multiple studies by William Sanders, the father of value-added educational research, have shown that teachers are the most important factor in a child's education. A great teacher can have tremendous influence on students' ability to learn, and an unskilled teacher can be something from which a student never recovers.
Great teachers are more important than ever. In the coming weeks the Tennessee Department of Education will release reports that compare student performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests with performance on the more rigorous National Assessment of Educational Progress exams. The NAEP is the national standard for student performance. Early indications are that Tennessee students' aggregate scores will be very poor. Excellent, professional educators will be the single most important factor in improving student learning.
Tennessee recognizes the importance of high-quality teachers and has implemented a system of meaningful annual teacher evaluations based on verifiable data. This is not a punitive measure but rather intended to help teachers and principals improve.
In the private workplace, employee evaluations are a common practice. Companies regularly set clear, measurable expectations and then evaluate workers' performance against those goals. These measurements help businesses reward, encourage and train employees so that the company sees increasing profits and the employee experiences a more rewarding career. The employees who do not perform to expectations and do not respond to professional development are often encouraged to find other, more personally rewarding career options. In business the main metric is profit; in education it is and ought to be student performance.Tennessee's teacher evaluation program, the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model, aims to help teachers and principals understand how they are performing and how to grow in the teaching profession. For those for whom teaching may not have been the best career choice, TEAM allows for a clear, objective method to help make personal decisions regarding their future.The notion of teacher and principal evaluations has a number in the profession rattled. Through their professional organizations, such as the Tennessee Education Association and Knox County Education Association, a vocal minority is aggressively making its opposition to the TEAM evaluations known to members of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Gov. Bill Haslam's administration strongly supports teacher evaluations. In fact, the administration, the state Legislature, every school board and the TEA committed to support an evaluation system as a part of the $500 million Race to the Top grant Tennessee received in 2010.
The concern is that the opposition to teacher and principal evaluations will sway the Legislature to repeal or water down the teacher evaluation law. I served on the Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee that recommended the TEAM evaluation system to the state school board. The system is good and will improve as it is used, weaknesses are identified and corrections are made. Challenges with implementation exist and need to be resolved, but we should be working together to try to improve these processes rather than fighting about whether we should have meaningful evaluations. To allow those who do not want meaningful, frequent evaluations to succeed in convincing the Legislature to gut the law would greatly hinder getting Tennessee students ready for life. Please contact your elected officials today and support Tennessee's Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model evaluation system.
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knoxnews.com
Great teachers are more important than ever. In the coming weeks the Tennessee Department of Education will release reports that compare student performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests with performance on the more rigorous National Assessment of Educational Progress exams. The NAEP is the national standard for student performance. Early indications are that Tennessee students' aggregate scores will be very poor. Excellent, professional educators will be the single most important factor in improving student learning.
Tennessee recognizes the importance of high-quality teachers and has implemented a system of meaningful annual teacher evaluations based on verifiable data. This is not a punitive measure but rather intended to help teachers and principals improve.
In the private workplace, employee evaluations are a common practice. Companies regularly set clear, measurable expectations and then evaluate workers' performance against those goals. These measurements help businesses reward, encourage and train employees so that the company sees increasing profits and the employee experiences a more rewarding career. The employees who do not perform to expectations and do not respond to professional development are often encouraged to find other, more personally rewarding career options. In business the main metric is profit; in education it is and ought to be student performance.Tennessee's teacher evaluation program, the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model, aims to help teachers and principals understand how they are performing and how to grow in the teaching profession. For those for whom teaching may not have been the best career choice, TEAM allows for a clear, objective method to help make personal decisions regarding their future.The notion of teacher and principal evaluations has a number in the profession rattled. Through their professional organizations, such as the Tennessee Education Association and Knox County Education Association, a vocal minority is aggressively making its opposition to the TEAM evaluations known to members of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Gov. Bill Haslam's administration strongly supports teacher evaluations. In fact, the administration, the state Legislature, every school board and the TEA committed to support an evaluation system as a part of the $500 million Race to the Top grant Tennessee received in 2010.
The concern is that the opposition to teacher and principal evaluations will sway the Legislature to repeal or water down the teacher evaluation law. I served on the Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee that recommended the TEAM evaluation system to the state school board. The system is good and will improve as it is used, weaknesses are identified and corrections are made. Challenges with implementation exist and need to be resolved, but we should be working together to try to improve these processes rather than fighting about whether we should have meaningful evaluations. To allow those who do not want meaningful, frequent evaluations to succeed in convincing the Legislature to gut the law would greatly hinder getting Tennessee students ready for life. Please contact your elected officials today and support Tennessee's Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model evaluation system.
News By:
knoxnews.com
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