School
and teacher effectiveness are in the spotlight both locally and
nationally. Just last month, the controversial ratings of about 18,000
New York City teachers were released. The
results "showed that most and least successful teachers in improving
their students' test scores could be found all around- in the poorest
corners of the Bronx and in middle class neighbors like Queens". The
teachers' ratings were calculated by measuring
how much their test scores reached, fell short, or exceeded
expectations. Demographics and prior performance contributed to the
calculation.
As we know, research
reveals that there is more variation within a school building than
among schools when examining teacher effectiveness. The media tends to
focus on a school's rating, while, in actuality,
the range within a school among the teachers can run from the 12th to
99th percentile in teacher effectiveness. Hundreds of the highest rated
teachers were working with students in classes that were deemed the
most difficult. Again, the data reinforces the
power that an individual teacher has to make a difference with
students.
We are warned that
to make a decision on value added scores alone is inadequate since this
score is just one test at one point in time. A school's/teacher's
entire educational program must be considered in
obtaining a holistic picture of teacher effectiveness.
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