Follow AAE on:

Subscribe to RSS Feed:

Indiana Teacher Evaluations: Unfair?
posted by: Ruthie | April 10, 2014, 07:51 PM   


In the wake of ground-breaking legislation in 2011, teacher evaluations in Indiana are making headlines this week. According to recent reports, the State Board of Education, lawmakers, and education policy experts deemed the results – only 2% of educators in Indiana are in need of improvement –
as “too good to be true.”


"I find it hard to believe that a system of evaluation where only a handful of people are said to need improvement is accurate or effective," said Gordon Hendry, an at-large education board member. "Clearly, the system failed."

While legislation mandated that each district conduct an annual review of educators, each district has the ability to choose their method of assessment.

Accord to the data, 88% of teachers were rated effective or highly effective, only about 2% reported needing improvement, and less than 1% were deemed ineffective. Amazingly, schools with failing grades reported only a few or no educators as needing improvement or being ineffective; and several districts rated every teacher and administrator as "effective," with no teachers in the lower two categories. Only teachers deemed “effective” or “highly effective” are eligible for raises.

While this issue is complex, the system is clearly not providing meaningful feedback to educators. According to AAE membership surveys, teachers welcome accountability and ways to improve and grow from their evaluation process. How can that be taking place in Indiana if all teachers are essentially receiving the same rating?

Do you think Indiana’s evaluation system is effective?
Comment below.

 

Comments (1)Add Comment
Why is it always the teachers' fault?
written by Lesa Belwood, April 16, 2014

I am a teacher at a "failing" school in Florida. I have always been rated as effective or highly effective. The school I am at now (first year here) has so many discipline issues and an administration that does not listen to what the teachers are saying needs to be done. Where is their accountability? Where is the parents accountability? We can only do so much with what we are given!

Submit a comment
 (not published)
smaller | bigger

security code
Write the displayed characters


busy