Does+the+Socioeconomic+status+and+or+measurement+effect+Teacher+evaluations?

A Reputable Website: Support Network. (2012, November 22). Race to the Top at a Glance Evaluations of Teacher Effectiveness: State Requirements for Classroom Observations. PDF. Retrieved November 19, 2012, from www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/implementation-support-unit/tech-assist/evaluations-teacher-effectiveness.pdf This article discusses in discusses the rules about the of classroom observations to the selected Race to the Top grantees. The Reform Support Network found some common factors across the 11 grantees: Multiple observations, varying frequency of observation by teacher experience and performance, advance warning for classroom visits, examining student work, feedback on observations. Other specifications about conducting observations of teacher practice. It explains the number of times teachers must be observed each year, whether classroom observations will be announced or not, requirements for feedback, such as pre- and post-observation – conferences and specific observation instruments like rubrics to be used for teacher evaluations. The article then has four charts that answer the questions I have explained above that is answered to each state that was awarded the Race to the Top prize.

 This article was very interesting to read because it is very relevant to today. I liked how it made me more aware as a future teacher, what I need to be doing in order to keep my job. It is interesting to see how different these states are getting evaluated on. Top states have less requirements than the others do. These evaluations from Race to the Top are what I need to know in order to be the best teacher possible once I graduate. It gives us a lot about how to Rhode Island Schools because since Rhode Island is one of the grantees, it is essential for schools to be up to date in order for our schools to thrive.

Editorial: Teachers to Face Individual, School Evaluations of Student Success. (2009, March 12). Teachers to Face Individual, School Evaluations of Student Success, p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from the Point of View Reference Center database.  This editorial talks about Massachusetts' school districts teachers will be evaluated on their individual effectiveness and their schools over all success in improving student performance under assessment system. It will include combing standardized test scores, practical intense classroom observation and "value added" measurements to a students growth. School Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said that the current evaluation program, Professional Performance Evaluation Program is inadequate and does not reflect a teachers worth. districts teachers feel very pressured by this new evaluation system that is heavy focused on standardized test scores. This new evaluation system would be based on "external peer evaluators" to observe teachers in the class rooms since a lot of teachers have complained about over worked administrators that often lack knowledge on the subject taught.  This article was interesting to me because it is showing how they are implementing different types of evaluation systems in different states and how it affects the teachers who are being evaluated. I like how the Schools Chancellor really explained her reasoning behind implementing a new evaluation system. It does not concern our Rhode Island schools because our schools at that time had a different approach to evaluating teachers. As well as current Race to the Top grantees, we have a stricter guideline when it comes to teacher effectiveness and teacher evaluations.

Point of View/ Analysis

Testing Teachers. (2011, June 30). Boston Herald, p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2012, from the Point of View Reference Center database. This article was about acknowledging that student performance must be now part of evaluating teachers. They explain the new adoption of a four-point rating system meaning teachers would be rated: exemplary,proficient, in need of improvement or unsatisfactory. This new rating system requires unannounced classroom visits by evaluators and input from peer and mentor subjects, as one measure of teacher effectiveness. The author is really confused about this new rating system because the board (of Elementary and Secondary Education) did not really specify how much student achievement should count for a teacher evaluation and left it up to the school districts to decide. Which as the author states "that something is better than nothing". Even though the author thinks that this is good, it just was not executed well and at least they changed something about it. This article was an eye-opener becuase with the editorial it goes hand in hand with this article since it shows how much change MA has done to its education system. It also showed me how complicate the education system can be. As I said before it does not really effect or concern Rhode Island schools because during this time we were part of Race to the Top.

Scholarly Article #1

Labaree, D. F. (2011). Targeting Teachers. Dissent Magazine, 58(3), 9-14.

This articles discusses different opinions on teacher effectiveness as an element of U.S. education. The article states the efforts to develop such standards are due to the increase in testing of students to assess student performence for evaluating teachers. Its states that to the people who are not in the profession to think that teaching is easy making it easy to assume that they are to blame for the bad U.S. education. But the job that teachers have is pretty hard and now it is worse due to the pressure of student performace to be a factor of evaluation teachers. It answers value-added measure of teaching began at this point in the history of American education,core characteristics of teaching a that make it so hard to perform effectively, andconsequences of using the value-added measure of teaching.

I thought this article was very interesting because of just how much it covers on teacher evaluations. It interesting to see how this article sees the teachers as being targeted. it gives me a history of where teacher evaluation might have started. It also shows another angle of how teacher's often get blamed for things like why students are doing so poorly and why not better teachers are teaching my child. This article shows that Rhode Island parents and schools should be concerned about this because people need to be informed about why this is happening and how did this start.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Scholarly Article #2

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Teachers matter: Measures of teacher effectiveness in low-income minority schools. (2011). Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 23(1), 41-63. Retrieved from []

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">This article is about the emphasis being placed on student outcomes to indicated teacher effectiveness. It explains the positive evidence to a particular type of evaluation system called the Education Added Assessment System used in low-income, minority schools. This article explains how this particular evaluation system could be used to identity both effective and ineffective teachers, target areas in need of improvement to increase teacher effectiveness, and making decisions on how to distribute effective teachers in areas of students that need it the most.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">I though this article was good because again it gives another type of evaluation systems that could be used in an area where the demographic is different. This is something that Rhode Island schools should be concerned about because this article states that this particular evaluation system works in low income, schools and since Rhode Island has a lot of low-income schools it would be interesting to see how this particular evaluation system will help our state.