People Cheat. This destroys evaluation systems. Story to follow.
TEI, DTR, PDAS, and everything else that comes to mind, have pros and cons. Some have more cons depending on who you ask, but I want to focus on why they fail rather than if people like them or not.
3 Examples: The first time a principal evaluates a teacher, they give them 1/3 in every category because it is the first evaluation. The principal evaluates another teacher, this time on the second evaluation, and gives them 2/3 in every category after a 5 minute observation, 3 of which were before class started. For a third and different teacher about to have their third evaluation, the principal approaches the teacher and tells the teacher they are going to give them all 3s.
Yes these are all real. Some of them happened today. Yes in DISD. "Really? I'm so shocked!" No you aren't, now shhh and keep reading.
Which ones of these are cheating? ALL OF THEM. Here's why.
Evaluation systems are supposed to be objective, especially when they involve performance based pay, school acceptablility ratings, etc. Telling a teacher they are going to get a 3 before even evaluating them is messed up not just to that teacher in particular, but to every other teacher in the district. Let me break it down.
The teacher - If you are going to be told what your "grade" is without even being observed, what is the point in trying to do anything other than whatever you want? The answer is for the benefit of the students, but if that is less of a concern, seriously, why change your behavior or do anything extra if it doesn't matter? Why are you even bothering me? Stay in your office like the Fear the Walking Dead Principal and leave me alone.
Every other teacher - If someone is getting higher scores than you regardless of how well they do their job, that's wrong. They are potentially making more money than you because they are at an IR school faking the numbers to get out of the hole or a "high achieving" school cheating to stay on top. In short, the system is based on luck. You luck out if you get a desperate administrator trying to make a name for themselves and get their picture in the paper. You luck out if your school can't afford any mistakes. You luck out if you teach a subject that needs to show improvement or all the suits from the state will show up and start messing with everyone.
Complex systems don't work if all the parts don't work. If you're going to have a system where you increase money based on pay, you need to have enough money to pay the people that meet that standard, not artificially keep the numbers low by messing with evaluations. If you're going to hire administrators that watch these things, you need to hire people with the integrity and knowledge to honestly evaluate AND provide feedback to help EVERYONE reach the top. Seems like common sense right?
All this to show growth? How about actually putting in the work, making your teachers better, and showing real growth by teaching your students something?
How is Superintendent Hinojosa's DISD Leadership today?
Related Articles:
DISD Principals Faking it
TEI Teaching and Money
Mixing TEI and Teacher of the Year
Teachers shouldn't let evaluations stress them out
TEI, DTR, PDAS, and everything else that comes to mind, have pros and cons. Some have more cons depending on who you ask, but I want to focus on why they fail rather than if people like them or not.
3 Examples: The first time a principal evaluates a teacher, they give them 1/3 in every category because it is the first evaluation. The principal evaluates another teacher, this time on the second evaluation, and gives them 2/3 in every category after a 5 minute observation, 3 of which were before class started. For a third and different teacher about to have their third evaluation, the principal approaches the teacher and tells the teacher they are going to give them all 3s.
Yes these are all real. Some of them happened today. Yes in DISD. "Really? I'm so shocked!" No you aren't, now shhh and keep reading.
Which ones of these are cheating? ALL OF THEM. Here's why.
Evaluation systems are supposed to be objective, especially when they involve performance based pay, school acceptablility ratings, etc. Telling a teacher they are going to get a 3 before even evaluating them is messed up not just to that teacher in particular, but to every other teacher in the district. Let me break it down.
The teacher - If you are going to be told what your "grade" is without even being observed, what is the point in trying to do anything other than whatever you want? The answer is for the benefit of the students, but if that is less of a concern, seriously, why change your behavior or do anything extra if it doesn't matter? Why are you even bothering me? Stay in your office like the Fear the Walking Dead Principal and leave me alone.
Every other teacher - If someone is getting higher scores than you regardless of how well they do their job, that's wrong. They are potentially making more money than you because they are at an IR school faking the numbers to get out of the hole or a "high achieving" school cheating to stay on top. In short, the system is based on luck. You luck out if you get a desperate administrator trying to make a name for themselves and get their picture in the paper. You luck out if your school can't afford any mistakes. You luck out if you teach a subject that needs to show improvement or all the suits from the state will show up and start messing with everyone.
Complex systems don't work if all the parts don't work. If you're going to have a system where you increase money based on pay, you need to have enough money to pay the people that meet that standard, not artificially keep the numbers low by messing with evaluations. If you're going to hire administrators that watch these things, you need to hire people with the integrity and knowledge to honestly evaluate AND provide feedback to help EVERYONE reach the top. Seems like common sense right?
All this to show growth? How about actually putting in the work, making your teachers better, and showing real growth by teaching your students something?
How is Superintendent Hinojosa's DISD Leadership today?
Related Articles:
DISD Principals Faking it
TEI Teaching and Money
Mixing TEI and Teacher of the Year
Teachers shouldn't let evaluations stress them out
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