Teacher Evaluation and Test Scores

Bob Herbert talks in his column today about what is becoming more and more common: "The president of the American Federation of Teachers says she will urge her members to accept a form of teacher evaluation that takes student achievement into account and that the union has commissioned an independent effort to streamline disciplinary processes and make it easier to fire teachers who are guilty of misconduct."

I don't have a problem with firing teachers who are guilty of misconduct. It's the other part that is not going to work.

I'll accept my evaluation and pay being based on standardized test scores when dentists are compensated based on the collective health of their patients' teeth. Dentists can clean their patients' teeth regularly, repair faulty teeth, send them home with a free toothbrush, and when the patient fails to do their part, their teeth are going to rot no matter what steps the dentist takes.

It's pretty much the same for teachers.