In the News...

Teacher Accountability bill: We Must be Accountable

Monday, April 26 2010

The Denver Post
By: Don Jordan
April 25th, 2010

I start every academic quarter the same way. Through the overhead projector, I display a graph that shows my school's CSAP scores as compared to much higher-achieving high schools such as Denver School of Science and Technology and East High. The gaps are monumental.

Some students gasp. Some grumble. Then I turn to them and ask one deceptively simple question: Why?

The resulting discussion is always illuminating and a bit disheartening, but the answers remain the same from class to class at the Denver alternative high school where I teach English.

"Kids at this school don't care."

"Parents of the kids at this school don't care."

"Kids here just aren't that smart."

Of course, the true reason cannot be so easily distilled. But the one thing I never hear is the one that likely has the greatest effect on my students.It's me.

What I mean to say is that teachers, and whether they are effective in their jobs, are the top factor in determining a student's success. Not poor school funding. Not faulty curricula. Not low parent turnout at back-to-school night.

That is why I was thrilled to read about the educator effectiveness bill sponsored by state Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver. The proposed legislation would rework teacher tenure laws to put a stronger emphasis on student academic growth.

The idea is controversial but very reasonable: Teachers would earn tenure after demonstrating three years of being "highly effective." The determination is based on multiple evaluations in which student academic growth is heavily weighted. An ineffective teacher could lose tenure after two years of poor ratings. Many teachers, including myself, worry about the subjective nature of teacher evaluations. With the changes must come a better system of fair and transparent evaluations, not the "drive-by" variety that are often the only option for overworked administrators.

This is the change all of our students deserve.

The bill also calls for principal evaluations that are more closely tied to student academic growth, a change that would provide incentives for administrators to do a better job of supporting teachers. Effective educators would also have access to career ladders that will help them earn additional pay to share their practices with colleagues statewide.

The Denver Post reported last month that only one Colorado teacher has found his or her license in jeopardy for what the state calls "professional incompetence," according to state records. The average reader might assume that teachers take pride in that statistic. For many of us, it elicits quite the opposite reaction.

While the thought of an educator losing his job is not pleasant, the thought of that same ineffective educator continuing to adversely influence our students' futures is much more painful. In addition, the unreasonable system of harboring ineffective teachers does more to undermine this job than help it.

How can we demand the absolute best from our students while settling for mediocrity in our own profession?

With any job, a worker must continually demonstrate his effectiveness and worth to the larger institution. Perhaps it is time that our community's most crucial profession is held up to that same criterion.