Teacher-Evaluation Bill Approved in Colorado

[tonysam]

It figures. To hell with what teachers think. WSJ via Susan Ohanian's site:

Colorado lawmakers passed landmark legislation that would make it tougher for public-school teachers to earn tenure and easier for them to lose it.

The bill—one of the most aggressive state efforts to overhaul teacher-tenure rules—went to Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter's desk Thursday. He has said he would sign it into law.

Under the legislation, which garnered bipartisan support, teachers would be evaluated every year and students' academic progress would count for half the instructors' overall rating. Elementary- and high-school teachers would need three consecutive years of positive evaluations to earn tenure, which guarantees them an appeals process before they can be fired.

Educators rated "ineffective" two years in a row would be stripped of tenure protection and revert to probationary status. They could earn back job protection after three straight years of satisfactory evaluations.

Currently, Colorado teachers can be fired for poor performance, but rarely are, and there is no state-mandated limit on the number of bad evaluations before dismissal. A state committee would craft details of the evaluation system, which would be put into use starting in 2014.

Sure they "rarely" are. Sure teachers are never fired for all kinds of stupid reasons. Most targeted teachers "voluntarily" resign and take a piddling settlement and give up their legal rights and unemployment insurance stupidly thinking "resigning" is better than being outright terminated.

This bill basically legalizes age discrimination, as older teachers are more expensive (think health insurance), and veteran teachers cost more money and have more years into retirement.

link

[Catshrink]

1. Are there special provisions for special education teachers?

For those who teach in low achieving school where the social issues adversely affect education?

This will be twisted as a way to say teachers are against accountability. We are against unfair accountability.

[tonysam]

2. People who push this garbage have NO concept of what really goes on in public schools

They are political institutions, first and foremost, and teachers' careers hinge on the whim of a single individual--the principal. Principals have obscene amounts of power.

Naturally, they aren't held accountable for anything. If they screw up, they get moved to another school or are promoted.

[tonysam]

3. Another link from Ohanian

Don't just get mad, Get Even - Senate Bill 191 passes colorado legislature

This spells out the situation nicely:

Evaluate school according to an unattainable goal (NCLB - 100% proficiency of every student according to a single measure) to ensure the label of "failing schools."


Standardize all curriculum, nationalizing public education (Gates Foundation is funding the "Common Core Standards Initiative" - technically this is a federal directive but the distinction between the federal government and corporate America is no longer recognizable). (corestandards.com)


Cut funding to neighborhood schools so they are forced to grow class sizes; cut music, art, and PE, reduce student services, and eliminate innovative programs.


Replace professional educators with unqualified, temporary, novices that will work cheaply and rotate every two years (Teach for America and The New Teacher Project).
(See Rethinking Schools)


Reconstruct schools under experimental charters lacking sound educational pedagogy and boasting inadequate research outcomes (Google charter school failures).


Tie student and teacher performance to high-stakes tests, creating a monopoly for state test providers. Never require accountability or public oversight for ETS, McGraw Hill, and Pearson while granting them complete authority in judging American schools, students and now teachers. In 2007 McGraw Hill Education reported $403 million in profits.


Redirect remaining limited resources to growing bureaucracy, data management, and failed policy.


Maintain the status quo of 25 million American children living in poverty. Continue to deny those books, lead-free environments, nutritious lunches, nurturing school climates, and cut them off from the emerging world of technology. Then fire their teachers and shut down their schools. Or contract with militant charters who will adequately prepare poor kids for military service or prison life ensuring continued profits for the privatized and profitable penal system and defense contractors.


Undermine local school boards and eliminate publicly controlled schools by centralizing decision-making under the corporate funded federal government (China and the Soviet Republic have provided a working model).

li> Create policies that scapegoat teachers and alienate parents further removing them from the decision making table.

Use standardized tests as a mechanism for class warfare thus creating the illusion of providing "better education" and instead use the data as justification to cram ethnic groups in overcrowded factory model schools until they demonstrate mastery of the skill of shading bubbles.

More at the link.

[mzteris]

4. the horses mouth is better. . .

not sure what that is you've posted, but it doesn't look to be the Bill to me so I went to find a copy:


http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2010a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/EF2EBB67D47342CF872576A80027B078?open&file=191_rer.pdf


ooo- found this, too. Scanned it, looks interesting:

". . .Into this mix came Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, a former public school teacher and principal. Two weeks ago, Sen. Johnston introduced Senate Bill 10-191, which would strengthen teacher and principal evaluations and tie 50 percent of those evaluations to student growth. . . . As a former middle school teacher, I am mindful that there is no "silver bullet" for public education. I know how difficult it can be to teach at-risk students. It would be arbitrary to hold a teacher accountable for all the external factors that inhibit student learning.

But by the same token, it would be equally unfair to students if their learning were wholly irrelevant to their teacher's evaluation. Evaluations are supposed to measure effectiveness: Is it really unreasonable to say that part of a teacher's effectiveness is her ability to produce academic growth?

I know what struggling students are capable of when they are given the chance to succeed. Admittedly, when teaching is done right, it is exhausting work. But people become teachers because they relish this challenge. And more good teachers will remain in the classroom when they are recognized for their hard work and when receiving non-probationary status is an accomplishment rather than a given. . ." http://coloradosenate.org/home/inthenews/teacher-effectiveness-bill-a-common-sense-solution


don't have a chance to read the bill myself, right now. Off to take pic of son's first PROM - Tux and girlfriend and all.... :)