The Problem of Evaluating Public School Teachers - 101

Today in Memphis the local newspaper reported that impending state law will penalize the bottom 20% of teachers each year by not offering them job tenure. Because teacher performance depends only on student performance (according to lawmakers), there will definitely be teacher lawsuits because of this ignorant – and single criterion – evaluation stance on teacher performance.

1. Let us consider a possible picture of the perfect public school teacher:

2. All his/her students perform acceptably on their performance tests,

3. Other teachers enjoy working with him/her,

4. No complaints from parents

5. The teacher takes professional education courses to maintain and improve performance for him/her – and the students

WHAT MORE COULD ANYONE EXPECT? WHAT INDEED?

First, let us look at a “test” in any subject area.

One problem I have found in college courses, for example, involves the instructor material – a teachers book, perhaps a DVD with lecture powerpoints – and a test manual with questions and answers. As a subject matter expert in test construction, I have been very disappointed in the testing material. I have worked for professors who required me to prepare, administer, and grade the tests. There were test questions for nearly every paragraph in the book. There were so many questions it was obvious the author’s graduate student(s) created the questions and the answers - without regard to item construction quality. Test items were, at best, minimally competent.

Public school teachers are not test construction SMEs, and I sometimes wonder if the end-of-the-year-test constructors are verifiable test constructors. I am certain that they are verifiable subject matter experts in their subject area.

Public school teachers are not SMEs in test construction, and if they were, they do not have the time to construct tests which can validly measure student knowledge and performance.

Further, notice that I mentioned “student knowledge and performance.” These variables overlap in the average student, but the fear of tests and the testing experience, can affect test performance. In Japan, national tests are required for students to go to college. Here better student performance means getting into a better, more prestigious school. The pressure on such students is enormous.

Teachers here in Tennessee are often accused of teaching to the test to improve scores. In Atlanta this year much turmoil occurred over reports of pervasive teacher and administrative cheating on standardized student tests.

Now, let us recall my earlier comment on eliminating the teachers who perform in the bottom 20% from acquiring tenure. If I am a teacher, do I feel comfortable being evaluated? Am I being evaluated fairly? What if I teach a difficult course – math or chemistry or physics? Am I really being evaluated in just the way history, English, or phys ed/health instructors are?

In the next post I will propose some possible solution to this problem.