ALBANY — The vast majority of school districts and teachers' unions seem to be having difficulty coming to an agreement on a new teacher evaluation system supported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
As of the end of last week, only 12 plans had been approved, with another 47 submitted for review, according to the state education department. There are 674 districts statewide.
The new evaluation system was put into place last session. It puts more emphasis on students' state test scores, and has been met with criticism, including from the state Board of Regents, which put in place a waiver system to delay the implementation.
The districts have until Nov. 15 to have their plans in and approved by the state or risk losing state aid. Those that believe they can't meet the deadline can instead apply for a waiver, which can extend the deadline up to September 2016.
Little over a month to go, more than 90% of districts do not have plans approved and in place yet.
There are still some that are in with the state awaiting approval, but even if all 47 of those are approved, that leaves over 600 districts without plans in place.
Can't wait to hear Cuomo's statement when the deadline comes and hundreds of districts are looking for waivers.
Chances are good that the districts that have submitted plans already used a broader measure (district, building, or grade level scores)--the other two alternatives are totally unworkable. The net result is that NY State is pushing districts to negotiate a system that relies on broader measures to evaluate staff--i.e.--the Band director is evaluated based upon a building wide ELA score. That is how nuts this system has become! The three stooges would not come up with this system--but Quid Pro Quomo, Elia and Tuschie love it--they think it is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteTeachers should jump on the all inclusive (no local tests) model. They will not survive the legal challenges that will ensue. Another benefit: safety in numbers. If all teachers are tied to math an/or ELA scores and they produce "ineffective" evaluations for the entire staff, do you really think that the superintendent will dismiss everyone. NO.Then the superintendents and BOEs will be fighting against this nonsense with us. Thus will begin the collapse of Cuomo's "monopoly busting" APPR plan.
DeleteWhy don't all the 600+ districts just say Fuck It, and don't bother submitting anything? Lose the money. Screw it. Let all the districts lose the $$$. Does it really matter? Let them shove the money up their ass. Isn't that a better statement?
ReplyDeleteAh what a vision! If NYSUT were a legit organization, they would be doubling-down and spending all of their capital on pushing for just such a thing...a huge mass statement. Not that NYSUT has any ability to manipulate districts....but they could PUT IT SQUARELY ON THE TABLE AS AN OPTION. We forget the power of simply putting things on the table, loudly. The function that serves is that it then forces players at the table to have to contend with it, and say yes or no to it. Thats the deal. Thats one of the essentials NYSUT has forgotten.....real power. Anyway, none of that will happen. NYSUT has no meaning.
DeleteWhat is more likely is that a large number of districts, like my own here in the HV, will do everything they can to comply. Our local, while good on sort of day-to-day workplace stuff, will be in way over their paygrade and will swallow the district admin's pill and go along with negotiating. Never once considering that they could simply refuse to negotiate and let it run...let them impose, and then say "fuck you, you own this."
Because we are in this huge war against reformers and their political cronies, we sometimes forget that school admin, at the district level, well.....they suck too. I joyfully look back on a time when the enemies of my profession were just awful, earnest, admin types that had a childhood desire to be a boss and use corporate-managerial lingo. Lets not forget that those awful, pinched souls still run districts for the most part. Aside from a few cool admin types who have shown their true colors as good people during this whole reform thing, school administrators are and remain the polluted backwash of corporate management structures and ideas. Third tier assholes.
typical know - it- all teacher nonsense.
DeleteThe million dollar question is if the UFT and the DOE are making "back room deals" right now in creating the new evaluation plan for NYC teachers. Me says that they are and it will suck and we will all get sold out again. Mulgrew will stand on his pulpit and say what a great deal we got.
ReplyDeleteHope for the all-aboard model. Tie us all together and throw us all overboard. This will accelerate the disaster that it needs to become.
DeleteOnly good thing about all of this is looking forward to less classroom obervations. (The new law says that there only has to be two observations a year at at minimum) One observation is by principal and one is by the outside evaluator. Praying to God that my district does not ask for more than two observations.
ReplyDeleteNO! Your local (if not in NYC) should push for TONS of observations! Stress the bejesus out of admin....let them F it up! A great way to not get a 3020A is for admin to F it all up. Force the F-up. It works! Say you want like 4 observations per teacher. Then literally every day, every admin is worried about doing obs. They can't do it....and even if they can, they F up the observations so wildly, its funny. Force them to have to do a perfect job. Thats what a union should do. Its all in the language.
DeleteMy admins have been doing 4-6 observations per teacher for two years now. They don't like it, but our school hasn't fallen apart either.
DeleteLook at it this way though - we were told by our administration that the principal observation (the non-independent observer) HAS TO count for 80%. So doing only two observations means that one period on one day counts as 40% of your entire year's evaluation. One period out of about 900. How is that not insane? And the law outlaws portfolios, plans, anything that can give a broader picture beyond that snapshot. Insanity.
DeleteYes, BUT if that observation is announced, you will know when it is and have plenty of time to create an outstanding lesson. You also will have a pre observation to explain your lesson and post observation where you will know exactly what your rating will be for that observation. Thoughts on that?
DeletePlenty of time to create an outstanding lesson? Or plenty of time to create an abomination of a lesson that will tick all the Danielson rubric boxes? The pressure will be on like never before to conform and stifle innovation to make damned sure you get most of those 40 points.
DeleteStifle innovation? let me guess...you daily lessons are on the cutting edge of pedagogical breakthroughs. Give me a break. The daily lesson of a teacher has not changed much in the past 40 years, some yes, drastically different from 1980, no.
DeleteI am in NYC and can tell you first hand that principals were in fact very capable in completeing 4 to 6 obervations per teacher for the past two years. If it can be done in NYC it can be done anywhere. It is just ammo to go after teachers. As menioned above, pray for the minimum of two observations from this deal as it is the only saving grace of this mess!
ReplyDeleteWe recently had a meeting with district administration to review the implications of the new law. As a music teacher, my 50% of the matrix for test scores now has to come entirely from ELA/Math scores. I can either use just my own students' scores (the kiss of death, given small sample size) or the whole building (morally wrong, given the fact that I only teach 5% of the students in the building). The third option is using a NYSED-approved third party music assessment - spoiler alert, there is none - or an NYSED-approved locally developed assessment. I'm somehow doubtful that NYSED will look at my music students' public performances - the most authentic assessment imaginable, since they need to take what they've learned and present it in a real-time performance situation to the community - as "rigorous" enough. They're likely to steer everyone toward the ELA/Math as the path of least resistance (for them). I guarantee that when music, art and PE teachers start being found ineffective or developing based on the scores of hundreds - or thousands - of students they don't teach, the lawsuits will start flying.
ReplyDeleteLawyers are drooling over this eventuality. The nano-second that a teacher is dismissed because of test scores for a subject (and/or students) that they do not teach, the lawsuits will be flying for sure. And when this fustercluck of an evaluation plan goes in front of a rational, sane judge - the APPR wiill be like Humpty Dumpty crash and crack - it will never be put back together again.
DeleteDo not submit any plans!. However, if districts comply with this insane directive then Everyone should have the ELA/Math Score. It is absolutely unfair and unethical to use the scores against a music teacher OR an ELA/Math teacher. Just because you may be the teacher of record for ELA/Math does not mean your score based on a bogus test is valid. Using these tests for evaluation of teachers is wrong - for ALL teachers! It will be more difficult to fight this craziness if we divide the staff into those evaluated with the state tests and those who may have access to more reasonable evaluation tools. Imagine only ELA/Math teachers using State tests and everyone else can use portfolio's.
ReplyDeleteA two tiered system of levels of abuse." OPT out" of submitting a plan or unify and fight together.