Commentary

American Federation of Teachers on Gates Foundation Report on Measuring Effective Teaching


AFT’s Weingarten: “This study underscores the fact that teacher evaluations must be about improving teaching, not just a mere snapshot assessment.” 

WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–January 9, 2013. Statement of American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s final reports of the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project. 

“The Gates Foundation’s study makes clear that evaluation of teachers must start with genuine feedback, which means the days of haphazard or check-list observation of teachers must end. Just dropping by a teacher’s classroom and writing up an evaluation must be replaced with a more serious process that actually helps improve teacher practice and student learning. 

“The MET study of thousands of teachers reaffirms that teacher evaluation is both an art and a science that requires time, tools, training and trust—ingredients that teachers and principals should have but too often don’t. This study underscores the fact that teacher evaluations must be about improving teaching, not just a mere snapshot assessment.

“The MET findings reinforce the importance of evaluating teachers based on a balance of multiple measures of teaching effectiveness, in contrast to the limitations of focusing on student test scores, value-added scores or any other single measure.” 

The AFT is committed to providing our members and their district partners with tools and resources to support the work of developing and implementing comprehensive teacher evaluation systems.  Visit http://www.aft.org/issues/teaching/evaluation.cfm

Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten 

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The AFT represents 1.5 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

Source: http://www.aft.org

Related Article:

Measures of Effective Teaching Project Releases Final Research Report 


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