2008 Woodie Awards
Proposal focuses on test scores, teachers
Kurt Hiatt - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Metro
- Page 1 of 1
A federal proposal that would track teacher performance partly through studentws' test scores concerns some Iowa City School District officials and instructors - who argue that such scores are not the ultimate arbiter of their pupils' achievement.
The Commission on No Child Left Behind is finishing its proposal, "Beyond No Child Left Behind: Fulfilling the Promise to our Nation's Children," which will include a recommendation to evaluate teachers on their students' test scores.
"We knew we weren't going to win friends over," said Jennifer Adams, the communications director for the Washington, D.C.-based bipartisan commission. "We also knew we needed to get this done."
And the panel - which is headed by former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who is also a contender for the Republican presidential nomination, and former Democratic Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes - won't befriend at least two local educators.
Jim Pederson, the district's human-resources director, and Kerri Barnhouse, a West High English teacher, are both vehemently opposed to any kind of teacher evaluation via students' test scores.
"It's definitely too extreme," Pederson said. "[Test scores] are only one measure of student performance."
But Adams stressed that student test scores would only compose half of the teacher evaluations. The other 50 percent would come from peer and principal review.
Under the proposal, test scores would be collected and evaluated for three years. If a teacher's students landed in the bottom 25 percent of the nation, that teacher would be required to complete two years of "professional development." If an educator's students are still struggling by the fifth year, the teacher will have two extra years to boost test scores.
By year seven, the proposal would require the district to take action, firing the teacher if her or his students are still performing poorly.
The commission will eventually present its 222-page report outlining 75 recommendations to Congress, Adams said.
"This is about students," she said. "That's what this piece of legislation is about. Period."
Taken aback by the mere proposal, Barnhouse - who teaches British literature, grammar, and a Shakespeare seminar at West High, 2901 Melrose Ave. - said she can't see any benefits to the recommendation.
"There are much better ways to look at the competency of a teacher," she said. "It's not for the federal government to say, 'This is the one way we're going to do it.' "
Barnhouse added that while she is confident her students would do well on a test, it isn't necessarily because of her - a lot depends on the students' abilities and motivation.
"We can only control what children do at school until they leave," Pederson added. "We don't know what's going on at home."
The Iowa City School District already investigates trends of poorly performing students and follows specific procedures for checking on teacher quality.
Currently, the district keeps close watch on new teachers, evaluating them after their first two years. In addition, the district checks up on all other teachers at least every three years, and the procedure has been "very" helpful, Pederson said.
The district fires only around two of 850 total teachers in the district per year. Administrators and the teacher most often agree that the teacher should resign, Pederson said.
Despite current policies or what officials or teachers may think, the proposal - which also recommends a 12th-grade assessment test and offers options for testing students - is necessary in Adams's eyes.
"The [achievement] gap is still there," she said. "Our kids are not competing as they should."
E-mail DI reporter Kurt Hiatt at:
kurtis-hiatt@uiowa.edu
The Commission on No Child Left Behind is finishing its proposal, "Beyond No Child Left Behind: Fulfilling the Promise to our Nation's Children," which will include a recommendation to evaluate teachers on their students' test scores.
"We knew we weren't going to win friends over," said Jennifer Adams, the communications director for the Washington, D.C.-based bipartisan commission. "We also knew we needed to get this done."
And the panel - which is headed by former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who is also a contender for the Republican presidential nomination, and former Democratic Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes - won't befriend at least two local educators.
Jim Pederson, the district's human-resources director, and Kerri Barnhouse, a West High English teacher, are both vehemently opposed to any kind of teacher evaluation via students' test scores.
"It's definitely too extreme," Pederson said. "[Test scores] are only one measure of student performance."
But Adams stressed that student test scores would only compose half of the teacher evaluations. The other 50 percent would come from peer and principal review.
Under the proposal, test scores would be collected and evaluated for three years. If a teacher's students landed in the bottom 25 percent of the nation, that teacher would be required to complete two years of "professional development." If an educator's students are still struggling by the fifth year, the teacher will have two extra years to boost test scores.
By year seven, the proposal would require the district to take action, firing the teacher if her or his students are still performing poorly.
The commission will eventually present its 222-page report outlining 75 recommendations to Congress, Adams said.
"This is about students," she said. "That's what this piece of legislation is about. Period."
Taken aback by the mere proposal, Barnhouse - who teaches British literature, grammar, and a Shakespeare seminar at West High, 2901 Melrose Ave. - said she can't see any benefits to the recommendation.
"There are much better ways to look at the competency of a teacher," she said. "It's not for the federal government to say, 'This is the one way we're going to do it.' "
Barnhouse added that while she is confident her students would do well on a test, it isn't necessarily because of her - a lot depends on the students' abilities and motivation.
"We can only control what children do at school until they leave," Pederson added. "We don't know what's going on at home."
The Iowa City School District already investigates trends of poorly performing students and follows specific procedures for checking on teacher quality.
Currently, the district keeps close watch on new teachers, evaluating them after their first two years. In addition, the district checks up on all other teachers at least every three years, and the procedure has been "very" helpful, Pederson said.
The district fires only around two of 850 total teachers in the district per year. Administrators and the teacher most often agree that the teacher should resign, Pederson said.
Despite current policies or what officials or teachers may think, the proposal - which also recommends a 12th-grade assessment test and offers options for testing students - is necessary in Adams's eyes.
"The [achievement] gap is still there," she said. "Our kids are not competing as they should."
E-mail DI reporter Kurt Hiatt at:
kurtis-hiatt@uiowa.edu
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