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A Group of TC Faculty Condemns the Release of Teacher Evaluations Based on Student Test Scores

Group of TC Faculty Condemn the Release of Teacher Evaluations Based on Student Test Scores
As faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University, we condemn the release and publication of NYC teachers’ names with inadequately tested, narrowly defined, and unreliable “effectiveness” scores. We question the claim that teacher quality can be accurately evaluated using current NYC value-added models and procedures. New York State criterion-referenced tests were not designed to measure learning over time and across grades. Furthermore, these tests assess student achievement only in English/Language Arts and Mathematics. Such limited and unreliable assessments of teacher quality can neither be used to identify excellent teachers nor teachers in need of improvement. When unreliable and invalid data are publicized with teachers’ names, the harm to students, teachers and the profession may be irreparable; the recruitment and retention of teachers is further jeopardized. We affirm the need for processes of teacher evaluation that are robust, valid, and humane.
 
We the undersigned faculty and instructional staff of Teachers College share the concerns raised by the Teacher Education Policy Committee:


Randall Everett Allsup
O. Roger Anderson
Monisha Bajaj
Lesley Bartlett
Caryn Block
James Borland
Melanie E. Brewster
John Broughton
Judith Burton
Lucy Calkins
Benji Chang
Peter Cookson
James E. Corter
Ellie Drago-Severson
Jessica Dudek
Ansley Erickson
Daniel Friedrich
William Gaudelli
Celia Genishi
Maria Paula Ghiso
Herb Ginsburg
A. Lin Goodwin
Alexandra Gribovskaya
Britt Hamre
Jay P. Heubert
Linda Hickson
Barbara Hruska
Olga Hubard
Thomas James
Alexander Karp
Michael J. Kieffer
Michelle G. Knight
Robert E. Kretschmer
Hope Jensen Leichter
Suniya S. Luthar
Anand Marri
Carmen Martinez-Roldan
Susan Masullo
Ellen Meier
Felicia Moore Mensah
Janet Miller
Srikala Naraian
Kathleen A. O'Connell
Celia Oyler
Lee Pogonowski
James E. Purpura
Molly Quinn
Emilie Reagan
Michael Rebell
Susan Recchia
Jessica Riccio
Russell Rosen
Sandra Schmidt
Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
Marjorie Siegel
Stephen Silverman
Jacqueline Simmons
Mariana Souto-Manning
Rebecca Stanton
Maria E. Torres-Guzman
Herve Varenne
Ruth Vinz
Erica N. Walker
Robert J. Weintraub
Michael Wilson
Karen Zumwalt



Published Thursday, Mar. 8, 2012

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