Student Test Scores Should Be Used To Rate Teachers In Teams:
Study WASHINGTON -- Standardized tests should rank students by
percentile and rate teachers in teams, according to a new policy
brief by Derek Neal, an economics professor at the University of
Chicago. "I'm very opposed to ever using this [data] to give
individual scores for teachers," said Neal, speaking at a
Tuesday conference hosted by the Brookings Institution's
Hamilton Project. Educational research like Neal's is appearing
as standardized tests have become more important to school
funding decisions and play a larger role in the evaluation,
hiring and firing of teachers. At least 26 states now mandate
teacher reviews that take standardized testing into account.
Many education reformers stress the use of data to rate teachers
-- but, as Neal noted, these exams are often imperfect. Critics
of this development argue that increased focus on tests won't
improve student learning if the tests aren’t measuring the right
things. Neal's dissatisfaction