Getty Images By: Thomas Lohnes
Getty Images By: Thomas Lohnes
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Another Michigan teacher evaluation bill has entered the arena.

This one would limit the number of consecutive years a Michigan student is assigned to a teacher deemed effective.  Problem is our school districts at least today rate most of their teachers effective year after year.

According to an article in the Detroit Free Press this new legislation would formalize the process for evaluating teachers and administrators in Michigan.

Proponents of the bill say it would create a fair process for evaluating teachers and would also put more control in the hands of local school leaders to determine how their staff would be evaluated.

Local control is good but will these local districts have what it takes to deem teachers ineffective, so far I have not seen evidence of that.

Again the problem is Michigan school districts are rating their teachers mostly effective or extremely effective the last few years.

Five Republicans voted with all 10 Democrats in opposing this bill, which still passed the Senate earlier this month on a 22-15 vote and the bill is now before the House Education Committee.

The opponents among other issues are concerned about the training for those evaluating the school employees as well as the bill doesn’t set minimum standards for the kinds of programs schools use to help them evaluate employees.

I can understand their concern on training of the evaluators, can you?

One of the no votes was from Sen. Margaret O’Brien, R-Portage, who in explaining her “no” vote on the Senate floor stated “While we have required evaluations to be done, we’ve not ensured that we have minimum quality standards in place”.

According to the Detroit Free Press the key pieces of Senate Bill 103 are:

■Delay - until the 2017-18 school year - requirements that teacher and administrator evaluations be based in part on student growth and assessment data.

■In the 2017-18 school year, 25% of a teacher’s evaluation must be based on the student growth and assessment data. That rises to 40% for the 2018-19 school year.

■Requires teachers be observed at least twice during the school year and one of those observations must be unscheduled.

■Requires teachers be given feedback within 30 days of an observation.

■Requires a school district post information about its teacher and administrator evaluation tools on its web site.

■Prevents a district from assigning a student to be taught by a teacher rated as ineffective for two straight years. If a child is assigned a student whose teacher has been rated ineffective for two straight years, the school must notified the parent.

Do you like this new teacher evaluation bill?

Does it go far enough?

Will it help improve the quality of our teachers in Michigan?

What are your thoughts?

Let’s discuss this tomorrow (Tuesday)  on my show The Live with Renk  show, which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.

Or please feel free to start a discussion and write your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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