Editorial #5

Summary: This article is about creating credible systems for evaluating teachers and principals. In many conventional schools, tenured teachers are evaluated only once every three or four years. Even at failing schools, nearly all teachers pass with flying colors. Some high-performing charter schools have major evaluations for every teacher at the end of each year. Additionally, teachers are observed very frequently and then receive feedback. They are evaluated based on planning, presentation, student test scores and more. In these schools, principals and teachers spend more time focussing on the educational portions of their jobs because other administrators take administrative responsibilities for them.

Opinion: I really like the idea of teachers being evaluated more often. Teachers feel very secure within their jobs and without evaluations, there isn't much motivation other than test scores to perform well daily. Perhaps if teachers felt the pressure to impress their superiors they might be more innovative in their teaching styles and engage students in different ways. Of course there are plenty of teachers who are innovative, and truly love teaching their students, but there will always be the others who have learned how to get by and put on a good presentation the day of an evaluation once every few years in the current system.