How do we measure the value of a teacher?

Since standardised testing has made its way into the national spotlight through NAPLAN and the MY School website teachers have continued to discuss the issues of using these test results as a measure. Currently NAPLAN compares schools in a very public way. What would you do if that comparison was no longer the school but you? What if your name was published alongside your ‘value’ ranking (percentile) which was determined by how well your students did on their annual standardised test? What would you do if this result impacted on your job security and could get you fired? Would you narrow the curriculum to push your kids to achieve in the areas to be tested? I think I probably would! This is the case in some US States and educational districts. Below is a link to a thought provoking and emotional article by a teacher named Maribeth Whitehouse who ranked in the 99th percentile based on her students doing very well in the standardised tests.

Click here to read Measuring My Value.

3 thoughts on “How do we measure the value of a teacher?

  1. The article captured my thoughts exactly. We think about the negatives of being listed on the poor end but it is not great for the top end either. Being judged publically by test results will lead to lots of extra problems for teachers. What about those “lucky” enough not to be linked directly to Maths and English in their teaching? It is a can of worms that I’m afraid will be opened.

  2. I agree with Towny. I don’t mi.nd being accountable, but I don’t believe that test results should be the only measurement of our effectiveness. I too, would teach directly for any test if I was being judged upon the result. However, the reasons students remember a particular teacher would rarely be because the teacher taught them a series of facts. During the holidays I was shopping in IGA when a student I had not seen for at least 6 years came up to me to say hello and to tell me about what they were up to. I must admit it gave me a buzz that this young woman wanted to say hi. Nocomparison table would show that!

  3. It is amazing, some of the stuff that I read about how teachers are treated in the US is really scary. I honestly could not see myself being a teacher in this sort of system.

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