How Should We Evaluate Special Ed Teachers?

There is growing concern that a rapid push towards linking teacher evaluation to student growth hasn’t taken into account special ed students and teachers.

The US Department of Education’s Race to the Top grant program, which will hand out over $4 billion in grants, has already led to more than a dozen states reforming the way in which teachers are evaluated, usually by linking these evaluations to student performance on standardized tests. There is an ongoing question, however, of how to test for the growth of special education students and consequently rate their teachers.

While the Department of Education has set increasing the number of effective teachers in special education as a priority for states applying for RTTT funds, it leaves it up to individual states to decide how to measure student growth. The mechanics of evaluations are already generating bitter debate regarding how to conduct measurements for general education teachers; many are bewildered at how to track growth for special education kids, who tend to display significant differences in progress and ability even within a single class.

“The great concern right now in many states is they’re using the same criteria for the general education teachers that they’re going to use for the special education teachers and there’s real resistance to that,” said George Giuliani, director of the special education program at Hofstra University’s Graduate School and executive director of the National Association of Special Education Teachers.

Bev Campbell is one such special education teacher whose class consists of children with autism, Down syndrome and a variety of other disabilities. So far this school year only one of her students has learned how to say their own name, a task they’ve been working on since the start of the year. Ms Campbell has seen growth in other ways among her nine-strong class, but how to measure these little steps of progress, which for the kids concerned are immense milestone, remains a mystery.

A professor at the University of Illinois, Kevin Kumashiro, notes a trend for students who require special services to be turned away or not tested in situations where standardized test scores have significant repercussions for the school and teachers concerned.

“We’re trying to implement something that wasn’t well thought out and now the clock is ticking,” said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for Florida’s statewide teachers union. “It’s a real problem.”

In New York, student growth will be part of this year’s evaluation. Chicago will begin implementing its new system in the Fall. Florida and other states will be using a ‘value-added’ measure starting next year.

Comments

Yolanda in Louisiana

April 27, 2012 at 6:10 pm

I am a general education teacher with one inclusion class and five regular courses and a parent of an adult son with autism.

Our state is now revising teacher competencies and performance standards. These ‘draft’ competencies include: planning, instruction, environment, and professionalism which at a quick glance do not exclude special education teachers, but when you look at the criteria for exemplary there may be a concern.

Resource special education teachers at the high school level have to be core certified as well as special education certified. Their students are academically challenged and in some cases also have behavior concerns. Standardized tests and classroom environment are areas that will require specific guidelines for assessment.

Special education teachers with students receving services with moderate and severe challenges are extraordinary instructors. Every student makes progress with these teachers, but not the type expected of regular education students.

Reply
Mike

April 27, 2012 at 6:45 pm

We are just now thinking of this. We didn’t put the cart before the horse did we? What about PE, Art, Music, Shop teachers?

Reply
- Green Goat
  
  April 28, 2012 at 2:35 am
  
  You think? lol…. It would nice if politicians would think this stuff through. All of this is a distraction and take away the little bit of time schools have left managing a evaluation system instead of working with students. (which should be the first priority, not the last)
  
  Reply
- Joe
  
  April 30, 2012 at 8:57 am
  
  Why do those teachers need a special evaluation system? I understand why SE does, but why do any of those? Regular evaluation should suffice.
  
  Reply
  - Mike
    
    April 30, 2012 at 9:47 am
    
    Joe, not to be mean but this just shows how little you know about what is going on. How do you evaluate a PE teacher on their students state test performance when they are not tested on that? In FL what they are doing is giving all of those teachers a rating based on how well the school does overall on reading, writing and math. And since pay is tied to it, you could be the best PE teacher on the planet, but your kids can’t do math or read so you A. dont get paid or B. get fired. Joe this is the reform YOU are calling for, because everything you stand for on here is right down the same road.
    
    Reply
  - tired teacher
    
    April 30, 2012 at 10:15 am
    
    explain to me Joe how you would like me to test my acting classes?
    
    Reply
How Should We Evaluate Special Ed Teachers? : online degree diploma

April 28, 2012 at 8:47 am

[...] In New York, student growing will be part of this year’s evaluation. Chicago leave begin implementing its new system in the Fall. Florida and other states be disposed be using a ‘value-added’ metre starting next year.Source [...]

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- Roy Alexander
  
  April 30, 2012 at 8:59 am
  
  [...] In New York, student growing will be part of this year’s evaluation. Chicago leave begin implementing its new system in the Fall. Florida and other states be disposed be using a ‘value-added’ metre starting next year.Source [...]
  
  What does this mean? Lots must be missing fron the beginning and end to makes it this unintelligible.
  
  Reply
How Should We Evaluate Special Ed Teachers? | International Education News | Renascence School International | Panama City | private preschool, elementary school, middle school

April 29, 2012 at 8:14 am

[...] evaluation to student growth hasn’t taken into account special ed students and teachers.”(more) Comments (0) Go to main news [...]

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