Sure, there is a lot of data that exists that can be used to evaluate teachers in a public forum. Parent reporting sites, Rate My Teacher, and other forums also exist, and you can certainly check out those as well. However, when it comes to test data, how you interpret this data and how much of it is used is subject to contention. And in the case of the NY schools, the data that maybe released is actually ineffective data that could be used to make poor decisions.

First, statistically speaking, two years of data is not enough to show a trend, let alone make an evaluation reliable. At least three years of hard data, at a minimum, shows this. And that is at a minimum. However, schools throughout the country, not just New York, are relying on two years of data to make a lot of decision. Unfortunately, rash decisions.

Second, the data is used in isolation. The makeup of teacher classrooms plays a major impact on test scores. The number of students with a variety of needs, the number of students who might be tardy during a school year, and the number of students who transfer into a classroom, which aren’t reported in student test data, can affect a test score….all of which might make a teacher seem more ineffective than he or she might be.

Finally, this article suggests that the data is used as part of an evaluation. What is the other data being used? This should at least be emphasized – though not given to the public – to show exactly how test data is being used to evaluate teachers and that test data, alone, is not an effective tool.

It is sad in this day and age that people really think test data is en effective tool to judge teachers. Rather, it is a sure way to create an education where we “teach to a test.”

And that is bad.

“They are not an accurate reflection of the work of any teacher.”

Well, ok, you’ve made your reservations known. Now you must still turn over this information. The public is entitled to it.