Teacher evaluation rules: Welcome to the pressure cooker Kids
are, by definition, not adults, and they’re not interested in
grown-ups’ measures of quality. And yet, the N.M. Public
Education Department wants teachers’ jobs to be based on tests
taken by kids for whom there is no personal consequence. What
will it mean for them when the weight of our careers rests in
their little hands? Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of Agranat’s
commentary. Read Part 1 here. Teaching to the test is a sad fact
these days. Schools narrow curricula to make “progress” on
standardized tests. Reading and math scores on high-stakes tests
in grades 4-8 and 11 are used to calculate school A-F ratings.
Kids enter middle school lacking science skills and social
studies knowledge. The focus on test scores has done serious
harm. The new teacher evaluations from the N.M. Public Education
Department will only make it worse. A full 50 percent of every
teacher’s evaluation will be based on student standardized test
scores. Parents in North Caro