Pushback for advocating for teacher performance data

[Anonymous]

https://nypost.com/2022/03/06/how-a-dad-became-teachers-enemy-1-to-teachers-in-loudoun-county/#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16466699521241&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2022%2F03%2F06%2Fhow-a-dad-became-teachers-enemy-1-to-teachers-in-loudoun-county%2F

Thoughts? Not the most reliable source but the metrics he was advocating for would make for an interesting view. Reminds me of healthcare where data on providers and hospital outcomes is very difficult to get. Nice to see someone advocating for change in a measurable way

[Anonymous]

Doesn't seem like the best time to be advocating for getting rid of teachers. At this point, warm bodies is all we can find. Plus, there are too many variables to this. I teach in a MD district. 35% of my end-of-year evaluation are student test scores. Students would need to miss 60 days or more of school during October-March to be exempt from these test scores. I have at least 3 students who have missed around 50 days of school. Their scores still count. I can't teach students who aren't here. I can't control their attendance yet it still counts against me. I also have another student who is such a behavior issue that she misses my class a few days each week. On paper, she is at school but most of the time she is with the counselor, psychologist or admin. I can't exempt her from my test scores though.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher I would not have a problem with this in theory and agree that an effective teacher really makes a difference. However the teacher above is 💯 correct that there are instances in which the extenuating circumstances prevent adequate growth for a particular student. In my class this year, 4 of my 20 students have extenuating circumstances like those described above. That’s 20% of my class and my school is not Title 1. In a title 1 school you might have 80%. You can be an excellent teacher but if your student is suddenly being abused by moms new boyfriend or has just been placed in foster care or doesn’t have any food in the fridge this year because dad is suddenly drinking up all the money, it is unfair to that teacher (not to mention the unfairness of the students’ circumstances).

[Anonymous]

I don’t think teachers are the problem. The problem is watered down curriculum and students who need to be in remedial classes instead of regular ones. Teachers can’t even teach because of disruptions

[Anonymous]

Teacher here. Let’s be honest here, shall we? I have 25 students total. 5 students have an IEP. 3 have modifications. 5 students I put up for needing further interventions and are awaiting to get the ball rolling. 2 students are behavioral problems. It is to the point that we have to shut down my class, remove all students except that problem student and lock the door until a trained professional can remove him out. 4 students are above grade level by two years. However, I can barely challenge them because of the other students in my class that can not even meet the current curriculum. Yet I should be rated on if students are growing? Rate me on the fact that students come home every day alive. We are currently in survival mode here. Get the kids out that are behavior issues. Get the kids out that are three years below grade level. Get the kids out that are way above grade level. Let’s go back to sped classes, gifted classes and general classes.

[Anonymous]

The guy's not much of a mathematician if he doesn't understand that student performance depends on at least two things: quality of instruction and student effort.

I'm a HS math teacher and there are egregious disparities in the performance of my students in the same class. Some have straight A's and some are scoring in the 10-20% range, the latter due to things such as having signed up for a class that's too hard, being absent a lot, , not making efforts to catch up on missed work, being on cell phones during class, leaving class for half an hour on BS pretexts, losing their materials, not doing homework, not studying for tests, not coming for help...

Which of these students do you want to judge my performance on?

[Anonymous]

That guy doesn’t understand how standardized testing works.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the points in the article that with current ranking methods the "schools in wealthy areas look good and schools in poor neighborhoods look bad" and "there are good and bad schools in rich and poor neighborhoods, and good and bad teachers within every school."

On that front, I think he's fighting the good fight because he sees the incredible hypocrisy with that system of ranking. However I don't agree that teachers should take the brunt of the criticism. It should be the administrators, the school board, and the school system leaders who should be more accountable with a metric like SGP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Let’s be honest here, shall we? I have 25 students total. 5 students have an IEP. 3 have modifications. 5 students I put up for needing further interventions and are awaiting to get the ball rolling. 2 students are behavioral problems. It is to the point that we have to shut down my class, remove all students except that problem student and lock the door until a trained professional can remove him out. 4 students are above grade level by two years. However, I can barely challenge them because of the other students in my class that can not even meet the current curriculum. Yet I should be rated on if students are growing? Rate me on the fact that students come home every day alive. We are currently in survival mode here. Get the kids out that are behavior issues. Get the kids out that are three years below grade level. Get the kids out that are way above grade level. Let’s go back to sped classes, gifted classes and general classes.

Teacher, you have my utmost respect. Thank you for your work!

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with the posts by teachers above. I will say I was able to differentiate early in my career to meet the needs of the vast majority of my students (HS math). It was a high FARMS school with all of the problems you’d expect but my students scored the highest scores in the city for an open enrollment public school (not in the DC area). Which I was so proud of but I was 25-28 years old during that time, not married, no kids of my own and I was burnt out because I was working 60 hours a week. Not to mention the emotional toll of having so many students with heartbreaking home life situations. It wasn’t sustainable and I left the school. Teachers cannot do it alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Let’s be honest here, shall we? I have 25 students total. 5 students have an IEP. 3 have modifications. 5 students I put up for needing further interventions and are awaiting to get the ball rolling. 2 students are behavioral problems. It is to the point that we have to shut down my class, remove all students except that problem student and lock the door until a trained professional can remove him out. 4 students are above grade level by two years. However, I can barely challenge them because of the other students in my class that can not even meet the current curriculum. Yet I should be rated on if students are growing? Rate me on the fact that students come home every day alive. We are currently in survival mode here. Get the kids out that are behavior issues. Get the kids out that are three years below grade level. Get the kids out that are way above grade level. Let’s go back to sped classes, gifted classes and general classes.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Let’s be honest here, shall we? I have 25 students total. 5 students have an IEP. 3 have modifications. 5 students I put up for needing further interventions and are awaiting to get the ball rolling. 2 students are behavioral problems. It is to the point that we have to shut down my class, remove all students except that problem student and lock the door until a trained professional can remove him out. 4 students are above grade level by two years. However, I can barely challenge them because of the other students in my class that can not even meet the current curriculum. Yet I should be rated on if students are growing? Rate me on the fact that students come home every day alive. We are currently in survival mode here. Get the kids out that are behavior issues. Get the kids out that are three years below grade level. Get the kids out that are way above grade level. Let’s go back to sped classes, gifted classes and general classes.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Let’s be honest here, shall we? I have 25 students total. 5 students have an IEP. 3 have modifications. 5 students I put up for needing further interventions and are awaiting to get the ball rolling. 2 students are behavioral problems. It is to the point that we have to shut down my class, remove all students except that problem student and lock the door until a trained professional can remove him out. 4 students are above grade level by two years. However, I can barely challenge them because of the other students in my class that can not even meet the current curriculum. Yet I should be rated on if students are growing? Rate me on the fact that students come home every day alive. We are currently in survival mode here. Get the kids out that are behavior issues. Get the kids out that are three years below grade level. Get the kids out that are way above grade level. Let’s go back to sped classes, gifted classes and general classes.

Curious on your view on IEPs. My marginally informed sense is that they are handed out too frequently and that the bureaucracy surrounding them often outweighs the overall benefits by putting undue burden on the schools, particularly if a parent is feeling indignant and litigious. But, I'm more likely to hear about the problem cases and perhaps most IEPs are beneficial and easily administered?