Responses to MAPS Teacher Evaluation Survey as of 03/19/2012

Responses to MAPS Teacher Evaluation Survey as of 03/19/2012

Concerns

I am concerned that important qualities for being a teacher are not addressed: patience, cultural sensitivity, fairness, and dedication.

Also, there should be multiple achievement indicators for student performance such as: academic bowls, essay contests, etc.

Unfair assessment, tied to pay, too much paperwork- less time to teach, not supportive of teachers- punitive

Who is going to be completing the evaluation is a major concern of mine.

Being evaluated unfairly

 Using student test scores and opinions about me that affect evaluation scores and salary

Administration accountability Fairness & equity for teachers

Amount of extra work/paperwork placed on teachers to prove they are teaching effectively

The value added aspect and the link to standardized test outcomes

If it is a fair look at how I teach and how my students learn.

Is it fair? So many elements determine a child's academic success, regardless of how I teach them, I would be penalized.

Will it be fair and serious?

Comparing my test scores to others

I'm curious as to how research-based the evaluation system is. I'm also curious whether teacher reflection is part of it.

That it won't be fair and equitable.

I am presently working in the new evaluation program for the second year in Tampa Florida. The teachers are extremely stressed and very unhappy about the process. We won the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation of $100 million dollars for our new evaluation program. The teachers who are the peer evaluators have realized how difficult and stressful it is for the classroom teacher and many peer evaluators have stopped doing it because they do not want to be the one that everyone says oh there she is to catch us. The first year many veteran teachers left because of the stress to be perfect and the second year they are still retiring earlier then they wished. We lost a lot of excellent veteran teachers but wasn't worth the aggravation to them

The criteria involved in Parent and Student evaluation

Questions

Who will be evaluating teachers? principals?  an external firm/company?

When will this be tied to pay, what are our alternatives?

What will be teacher responsibilities?

I would like to see what it looks like.

Will pay be affected? When will this occur?

What student evaluations will be used?

How much thought was put into the new system? It seems more like a knee jerk reaction, with change occurring just for the sake of change.

How can we stop it?!?

What are the consequences of not doing well on the new evaluation? Do I get observed again after time to correct what was wrong, or is it a "one shot deal"?

How does it work? How do we guarantee that it is fair and an accurate assessment?

Will I be penalized as a teacher?

I know nothing about it

How do evaluate teaching technology when the whole school attends my classes?

I'm curious as to how research-based the evaluation system is. I'm also curious whether teacher reflection is part of it.

How will those who teach ESOL or ELL students be evaluated considering our students come to the US barely speaking/reading/writing English, and can only do so at 1-2 grade level?

I know that Hillsborough County is being used as a model for Georgia's evaluation system. I am extremely unhappy about this process. Will Georgia's teachers have any input in the process and if so will be penalized in the process?

Student test scores should not be highly valued.

What sector created the criteria for the GTES?

Suggestions

Teachers should also be able to evaluate administration at the school, local, and state level in this new evaluation system.

More teachers to the table!

Provide funding for parapros in the regular classroom

The evaluation to be administered to students, families, administrators and colleagues of the teachers Administrators should also be evaluated.

More teachers involved.

More TIME for teachers to be involved in this evaluation process.

Allow teachers to provide input on how they will be measured.

It is being piloted well before anyone is comfortable with the new system and with little to no lead time.

Read the myriad research articles on the ineffectiveness of the "value added" evaluation system. Read the myriad articles on the ill-advised nature of linking standardized test scores to teacher evaluations or salary increases. Read the myriad studies on the lack of impact on student outcomes that ANY of these proposed methodologies has, then consult some of your own state's education professors and develop a better evaluation system that may actually be representative of teacher/student outcomes.

It seems very complicated and time-consuming; it should be easier to understand and to work with.

INCLUDE TEACHERS

Include real teachers, not hand selected yes men, to the team. Involve GAE and GFT and other unions to the table also.

Please ask COE faculty at colleges to get involved with the process. Working with preservice teachers, we'd be happy to pilot forms, etc.

Use flow charts showing "if, then" conditional statements regarding circumstances/options for evaluations

I feel as a professional, teaching over 35 years that the pressure that is felt to the classroom teacher will not keep new teachers in the profession that’s why many leave the profession within the first 5 years, and will have veteran teachers rethink their stay in the profession for a long time. The staff members must have many teachers developing the evaluation. My suggestions are they should use Charlotte Danielson's rubric not as a gotcha tactic but more as a Positive reinforcement. They must show the teachers positive videos of excellent examples so the teachers will have visual examples. They should have pre- and post-observation questions on video. They should be shown how to answer questions that the evaluators will use to question them about.