Teacher evaluations at the schools that Obama, Duncan picked for their kids

[Hannah Bell]

Bill Schechter taught history for 35 years at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, Mass. Now retired from the classroom, he supervises the student-teacher practicums of students earning master’s degrees in teaching at a local university... A question occurred to Schechter recently when he was preparing testimony to give before the Massachusetts Board of Education, which will soon hold hearings on whether to base teacher evaluations on students’ standardized test scores — and if so, to what extent.

The question was: How do the schools serving the children of President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan handle this important school reform issue? He decided to find out. The answers recently arrived in two e-mails:

“Arlington school district teacher, March 31, 2011: ‘We do not tie teacher evaluations to scores in the Arlington public school system.’

“Sidwell Friends faculty member, April 1, 2011:
“ ‘We don’t tie teacher pay to test scores because we don’t believe them to be a reliable indicator of teacher effectiveness.’ ”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teacher-evaluations-at-the-schools-that-obama-duncan-picked-for-their-kids/2011/04/15/AF1S1cwD_story.html

[Pholus]

1. Very nice! Kudos to Mr. Schechter!

And a great comeback to this high-stakes-testing crap.

[yurbud]

2. excellent work!

[Fumesucker]

3. No one could have predicted..

That the school the president's kids go to has a different standard than the one he and his hand picked crew wish to see foisted on the hoi polloi average citizens.

Right?

[n2doc]

4. Oh stop hating on the Prez!

He and Arne just want whats best for their children...and yours! Just because they have different expectations for their children than they have for yours doesn't make them bad!

:sarcasm:

[Hannah Bell]

5. k

[Brickbat]

6. You don't say.

K&R.

[Hannah Bell]

7. kik

[senseandsensibility]

8. keep this kicked

I really wish Rachel would cover this issue more. I know Ed has, and I salute him. But I think that her intellect would point out the hypocrisy brilliantly. I know she's done that in other areas.