It is no secret that Washington, D.C. schools are not performing at a high level with only 9% of students proficient in some areas. In spite of these dismal results, 95% of the teachers received good performance evaluations in the past. School Chancellor Michelle Rhee has constructed a new evaluation tool and 737 teachers received notices for 2010-2011 because they were rated minimally effective. They have one year to improve or they will be terminated, as well.
Rhee Dismisses Ineffective Teachers
Washington, D.C. holds one of the lowest success rates of any school district in the USA. Michelle Rhee has taken on the challenge to have superior teachers in her district. In an attempt to improve the DC schools, Michelle Rhee dismissed 241 teachers – some were not certified as teachers. 76 teachers were dismissed for other reasons than poor evaluations. The city has 4,000 teachers so Rhee’s firings affect 4% of teachers. "Every child in a District of Columbia public school has a right to a highly effective teacher – in every classroom, of every school, of every neighborhood, of every ward, in this City. That is our commitment. Today we take another step toward making that commitment a reality," says Rhee. [1]
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is Rhee’s supervisor, strong supporter and says, "As Mayor, I will not sit still, and I will not be satisfied until a highly effective teacher is in every classroom. Today’s action puts us one step closer to that goal." [1]
New IMPACT Evaluation Tool Used to Determine Who Stays and Who Goes
In the past, the majority of teachers were rated as highly effective. Michelle Rhee has comprised a new rubric called IMPACT. IMPACT requires that teachers have five 30-minute evaluations during a school year. Three are by an administrator and two are by "master teachers" in the instructors subject area.
IMPACT has nine categories with 22 measures. Some of them are:
- classroom presence
- time management
- clarity in presenting the objectives of a lesson
- ensuring that students across all levels of learning ability understand the material.
Scoring is on a scale from 100 to 400:
- below 175 = subject to dismissal
- 175 – 249 = minimally effective
- 250 – 400 = effective or highly effective
Standardized test scores are a large part of the evaluation process. The scores are labeled as the value-added component and are valued at 50% of the teachers’ evaluation. Linking student scores to teacher evaluations is controversial. While teachers should be held accountable for their teaching, should teachers be held accountable for other variables?
Should teachers be held accountable for other factors that affect learning? Those may include:
- domestic violence
- learning disabilities
- physical abuse
- sexual abuse
- lead poisoning
- emotional abuse
- lack of parental support
- chaotic lives
- poverty
- drug infested neighborhood
- parents in jail
- severe neglect
- drugs in the home
Should a teacher be held responsible for a student that is dealing with many issues non-related to education but prevent them from being able to focus on school? What if parents don’t care about homework getting done, won’t come to school for a meeting, don’t show up for conferences, and don’t get the student to school two out of five days? Is it fair to hold the teacher responsible for poor parenting and environmental deficiencies?
Chancellor Michelle Rhee believes it is fair to hold teachers accountable for all student learning without regard to home environment, emotional inability to learn or student effort. The teacher’s union will contest the firings. While few are against good teachers in the classroom, it is questionable whether this evaluation tool is fair.
[1] Turque, Bill. "Rhee dismisses 241 D.C. teachers; union vows to contest firings," The Washington Post, July 24, 2010.
Barbara Pytel - Email me Experience Although I was never particularly fond of going to school as an ELL student, I ironically became a teacher, ...
