What Should The Results Of New Teacher Evaluations Look Like?
In a previous post, I discussed the initial results from new teacher evaluations in several states, and the fact that states with implausibly large proportions of teachers in the higher categories face a difficult situation – achieving greater differentiation while improving the quality and legitimacy of their systems.
I also expressed concern that pre-existing beliefs about the "proper" distribution of teacher ratings -- in particular, how many teachers should receive the lowest ratings -- might inappropriately influence the process of adjusting the systems based on the first round of results. In other words, there is a risk that states and districts will change their systems in a crude manner that lowers ratings simply for the sake of lowering ratings.
Such concerns of course imply a more general question: How should we assess the results of new evaluation systems? That’s a complicated issue, and these are largely uncharted waters. Nevertheless, I'd like to offer a few thoughts as states and districts move forward.