Despite what you may be hearing from our UFT President, Michael Mukgrew, or the newspapers. The basic teacher evaluation system remains unchanged. True, the high-stakes Common Core based tests required by the State will not be used to rate teachers, at least for the next four years. Instead, the local measures, selected by the school district and approved by the State Department of Education, will be used. The local measures are also based upon testing and it will still be 50% of a teacher's grade! Once, educators, parents, and students realize that the teacher APPR will be unchanged and that their teacher will be teaching to the test, there will be an uproar that the State was just trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the parents. The result will be a surge in parents opting out their children from the State and local test requirements.
Obviously, the State politicians and the education department have failed to read the anger from parents, and teachers alike and have simply added air freshener to the stinking teacher evaluation system, complete with the "junk science" of the Value Added Method (VAM) that is supposed to account for student growth but is so filled with errors and false assumptions that it's almost useless as a tool to evaluate teachers and their students. This has been exposed in the groundbreaking lawsuit by a 4th grade teacher.
Last school year saw a huge rise in the "opt out" movement in the State, with a 20% 'opt out" rate. Once, the general public realize that the APPR has actually increased the testing component from the past 20% of a teacher's evaluation to 50%, look for a corresponding increase in the "opt out" rate.
It seems only an increasing "opt out" rate and dissatisfaction with the Governor's education agenda will end this vindictive and unfair teacher evaluation system and therefore, I support the "opt out" movement until the testing component is more realistic (5 to 10%) and fairer when it comes to grading students with age-appropriate tests.
Outside evaluators and only two observations for next year?
ReplyDeleteHe will not end testing until he closes all the receivership schools. He will then declare victory as the students' lobbyist that he is so fond of calling himself.
ReplyDeleteCell phones in schools completely out of hand. At Lehman HS campus they use the to coordinate fights during fire alarm evacuations. They then put the fights of close to a hundred students on World Star Video. The kids are openly watching porn and blasting foul "music". Finally the Post wrote a little about it. DeBlasio is an asshole.
ReplyDeleteI am one of the many tier 4 teachers who have just about ten years in and who see no future in this profession. It is sad to say this, as teaching used to be a very satisfying career. The tests are one problem, but the bigger one is the 'reform' movement that, from its inception, decided to place the blame for educational failure on teachers.
ReplyDeleteAs any teacher knows, your stats are only as good as your students. If you have largely self-motivated students from stable, middle class homes with intact family structures, then you will look great on paper regardless of your skill, experience or ability. If you have students from poor and minority communities with mostly broken families and cultures of failure, it doesn't matter if you are Einstein - you will look bad.
The reform movement never wanted to address this basic truth, and instead took the easy route of blaming the first mates on the sinking ships (teachers), instead of the Captains (school and district leadership), the rough seas (poverty), the poorly planned route (bad reforms of now like Common Core and those of ages past) and the lack of maintenance on the ship's engines (funding, etc).
The logical conclusion of the 'reformers was that 'those teachers are bad and must go!" They unleashed a new crop of bully principals on us whose job performance requires that they look 'tough' on their good-for-nothing staff, and Danielson's was the bat they would use to beat us with. Sorry Cuomo and Mulgrew, Danielson's is not good and makes it even easier for an administrator to treat you unfairly for any reason whatsoever.
Now that I am approaching ten years, and the beloved vesting for health benefits, I, like many I know, are planning on looking to get out of this nightmare of a 'profession.' We all feel sad, but the Left and the Right want McDonald's-type teachers who come and go and work for nothing and get no pensions. This is one more nail in the coffin on our once great nation.
http://nypost.com/2015/12/20/punk-students-pull-fire-alarms-so-they-can-have-nasty-street-fights/
ReplyDeleteAnother result of DeBozo's cellphone policy. Worldstarhiphop.com has all the filmed fight going INSIDE and outside NYC public schools.
Is this legal? The pulling of the fire alarms so students can leave the building without going through metal detectors. At least this was one explanation of what was happening. And now the creation and filming of a large fight and putting it up for view. Don't you need to get releases from all the people on the video? They can tag and arrest people from the videos. And where is the Bronx superintendent in this?
ReplyDeletehttps://m.facebook.com/WorldStarHipHop.Bronx.thots
ReplyDeleteOne of many sites that are uploaded daily from students recording fights in schools.
I have almost 8 years full-time teaching experience with the DOE. With my day to day subbing and a summer job I had a few years with the city (not teaching), I have 10 years. Am I eligible for health benefits? And who should I call? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteChaz I think you are misinformed. If teachers are rated on their lical measures it does not mean state scores.
ReplyDeleteMost local measures are assessments like dras, F&p, performance tasks etc. all of which is assessed and graded by teachers which make it unethical and favors teachers.
Local measures could be state test but not likely under new guidelines. Bigger question is who has the decision of a schools local measures? Will it still be a committee? Does principal have to approve ir choose default?
Alot of unknowns here and a lack of info
The young scholars of the Bronx need their cell phones! How dare they have to go through metal detectors! At least the man, myth and legend DeBlasio knows this. Mulgrew will never open his mouth against anything Bill wants, no matter how asinine the plan or how negatively it impacts students and teachers.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that the DOE wants the local measures to be testing, be it Citywide tests or State tests like the Regents.
ReplyDeleteChaz,
ReplyDeleteBut you are leaving out alot of info. Testing can mean alot of things. This post is misleading and should have been written when you have more info. I agree with 9:09. Not telling full story.
chaz is right. My Principal told us today that the testing requirement is still part of our grade.
ReplyDeleteThe most recent news reports suggest the Common Core test component of the evaluations will be replaced by local tests.
ReplyDeleteOf course there may be exceptions and negotiations to this and most things in life but Chaz is on target here. The main point being that the Gov wants to retain the test-evaluation link...point well taken Chaz.