So what IS a fair evaluation system for teachers?

[Pholus]

4. I wish a politician with no teaching experience would come in and tell me how to teach....

Said no teacher, ever.

Most likely an equally weighted set of:

1) Peer evaulation
2) External peer evaluation
3) Evidence of career and personal development
4) Evidence of service to the school and community
5) Standardized testing
6) Grievance history

used by a committee of teachers to rank order themselves would work. But that requires nuance and experience on the part of the evaluators, doesn't it? Here are the reasons this won't be allowed:

- MBA ("can manage ANY business&quot school administrators can't understand it
- Soundbite politicians can't explain it in a couple words to tut-tut failures
- Edu-corportations can't push the debate onto a single statistic they themselves game.

Now what ISN'T on that list...

1) Student evaluations -- causes teachers to compromise standards rather than make waves.
2) Parent evaulations -- ditto
3) Heavily weighted standardized tests -- causes teachers to teach to the tests. Easily misused and misinterpreted.