Tennessee’s new teacher evaluation system has hit an unexpected snag.
With teacher tenure and job retention riding on a top score, Williamson County is banning student teachers from working in high school subjects where there are statewide end-of-course exams. The district is also suggesting individual principals not allow them in grades 3-8, or, if they do, not turn over the classroom until after standardized tests.
Even though they’re not under formal policies, other principals and teachers statewide who formerly volunteered to take student teachers are backing off, too.
They say they don’t have time to mess with mentoring, or they fear the process could affect students’ test scores, college of education officials at Vanderbilt and Belmont universities said.
“It’s nothing but the teacher evaluation system that’s got them tied up in knots,” said James Stamper, director of student teaching for Belmont University. “We all had to have somewhere to start.”
Williamson County Schools can’t risk interference for teachers when 35 percent of their evaluations are based on student learning gains on standardized tests, said spokeswoman Carol Birdsong. “It’s your classroom, and you are being evaluated based on your students’ performance.” ...
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Tennessee Districts Snub Student Teachers
This from the Tennessean:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Doesn't sound like a P-20 kind of state. Wonder where they think they are going to get qualified replacements when the ones they have retire or are canned by the evaluation system they have created. Man, I thought they were the "Volunteer State".
As ironic as this is, it does bring up a very timely issue with the new EPSB/NCATE expectations of yearlong student teaching, co-teaching model, etc. Colleges of Education are quickly finding themselves in a similar position as public schools - Oversight organization creating more unilateral mandates which are nice on paper and in theory but often inpractical or even impossible to achieve due to a lack of control or influence on significant elements outside the environment in which the school controls.
Realistically, there has to be a real carrot for schools during this era of assessment/accountability gone amuck, otherwise we may need to return to the normal and lab school approach to training teachers.
Yeah. I went through this in P-12 during KERA, now the idea of "motivating" the troops seems to have followed me into higher ed. I feel strangely responsible somehow.
There seems to be an underlying belief on the part of the government entities (KDE,EPSB, less so perhaps CPE) that higher ed needs to prove that it has some skin in the game even if the ideas put forward are anti-scientific or simply unworkable.
Following the medical model of clinical supervision during a year-long student teaching experience sounds OK at first blush, but there are so many differences between the supports for medicine and those for the public schools. Medical folks limit the number of residents they accept so as not to become overwhelmed and to protect against any slippage in the standard of care.
Now, in Tennessee, we see districts swearing off student teachers altogether because 35% (!!!?) of a teacher's evaluation come from test scores on one test that does not hold students feet to any flame.
As usual, I suspect this elevated idea will receive no additional support that might assure that the big plans are truly realized in the field.
We are beginning to look at a year-long clinical at EKU. As I have begun to read about clinical models from other states, it appears to me that most of the states have increased field hours. Most of the other changes seem to revolve around how they describe their program. We'll be able to do that. But EKU cranks out 500 student teachers per year. It's hard for me to imagine how that could work if we were truly talking about a medical-style model.
Stay tuned as we learn more.
While reading this article I couldn't help but picture the "system" as a giant monster feeding on high test scores while the teachers run around like slaves with no voice on the issue. Honestly, I don't blame the principals, the teachers or anyone else involved on the personal end of the spectrum here. The fact that standardized testing contributes to more than a fourth of the teachers evaluation makes me think that the "testing" the students have to take is more important than the value of education, and the first-hand experience that they receive. Don't get me wrong, testing is an important aspect of one's educational career in Tennessee, Kentucky and all the other states, but to reject a student teacher just because you're afraid that he/she will affect your overall testing results sounds more like we're living in 1984 by George Orwell's standards with a "big brother" figure watching our every move to ensure that the scores are of key importance. While that comparison may be a little harsh it is the only one that comes to mind when concerning this issue. Although I blame the system and the higher up figures here i still believe that the teachers should be more than willing to allow students to teach in their classroom because they know the importance of having experience in the classroom before actually having your own classroom all day.
I honestly do not believe that student teaching is the issue here. A teacher should be confident enough in the education that they are giving to their students and I do not believe that allowing college students into the schools should interfere with this. I also believe that it is our job as educators to mentor and lead as a good example for future educators. This is exactly why student teaching is a pre-requisite for those who who wish to graduate from the college of education.
This just doesn’t seem to add up to me. Why do we become educators? Those who become teachers, for the right reasons, typically do it because they love to teach, to inspire, and to make a difference. The obvious target for us as teachers would be our own students, but I would think that every teacher would jump at the opportunity to mentor someone who shares the same passions as they do, teaching. Now I don’t necessarily believe that teachers do not want to mentor these college age students, I think that the obvious fear is the repercussions it might have on their evaluations. This is a shame. There must be some way to alter the evaluation system for the teachers that choose to have a student teacher come into their classroom, at least for the duration of the time that the student is in their classroom. Teachers should be encouraged to have a student teacher in their class, not punished. After all, these current teachers will eventually retire and then what will we be left with? As teachers isn’t one of our main concerns the future of education?
Post a Comment