Who's evaluating the evaluators?

So, which ones are the conservatives in this case, the republicans or the Democrats? The teacher evaluation system was devised from Race to the Top mandates initiated by the Democratic Presidential administration and applied for by the Democratic Gubernatorial Administration with processes devised by Democrats, Republicans, and TEA in the state of Tennessee. Let's not get confused about who's who and what's what in education reform.

to a post concerning this new evaluation :

In response to Indya, thank you for your perspective from "up above" as a School Board member.
Although it is not without legitimate fear of retaliation, please allow me to present the view "from below" as a veteran classroom teacher with direct knowledge on how the TEAM evaluation affects front-line educators.
This new statewide system has been widely heralded by the media, by Nashville lawmakers, and by our very own superintendent (who received high praise in his most recent evaluation for his participation in its crafting and implementation) as a "supportive" system for students and educators , nobly geared toward (in McIntyre's own words) "enhancing our ability to effectively support student learning". Sure, it sounds good on paper and in 30-second soundbites on Live at Five, especially in the current reactionary political climate in which so many of the present ills of society are blamed on "bad teachers" and "teachers unions".

But as with many things, there are unintended consequences - as well as preexisting conditions which may exacerbate them.

I consider myself to be a highly skilled and in many ways exemplary educator. When I first heard about the upcoming introduction of a "New Evaluation System" I was unconcerned. I assumed that it would be a valid, established, well-researched, scientifically-proven, unbiased, fair, logical, and complete system, and that our teachers would be trained, practiced, and well-versed in what it required BEFORE we would be measured by it. As i said, I'm a good teacher. I'm on my feet all day giving my all for the boys and girls with whom I have been entrusted to educate. Announced evaluations, surprise "pop-in" evaluations, "formal" and "informal" evaluations - bring it on. My classroom door is ALWAYS open. I've been around for years and haven't gotten a "bad" evaluation yet. But now, I'm not so sure. Oh, I'm sure I won't get a "bad" evaluation under the TEAM model, but I firmly believe that the dog-and-pony show that the TEAM model requires as part of it's rubric in order to even score as a "3" WILL result in me being a WORSE teacher - if only for the length of my observation. Why? Because (in order to safeguard what little job security I have left as an employee of Knox County Schools under it's current superintendent), I will be too busy parroting the latest edu-speak catchphrases, following to-a-"t" the minute-by-minute pre-scripted lesson plan, and performing whatever other flips, tricks, and dance moves I have to perform in order to rack up the "points" the evaluation rubric requires. A Dog and Pony show of the highest order, pure and simple, and a fraud which I feel myself and all other teachers will be forced to commit against our students four to six times per year - IF we wish to remain a member of the teaching profession in Knox County. During my times when I am being observed and "scored", I will NOT be encouraging my students to explore subject matter more in-depth than was "allowed" by the lesson plan, I will not encourage them to think independently, to critically question, to challenge, to dare to disagree, to think for themselves or to assume the perspectives of others. I will NOT teach them the unmeasurable qualities of self-respect, self-reliance, love of learning, personal responsibility and civic duty, empathy, acceptance, perseverance, and patience. in essence, I will NOT be doing exactly what I entered the teaching profession to do, and what the outstanding educators I had as a student did for me. Why not? Because, under the TEAM rubric, I wont score "points" for it, and if I don't score enough "points", I lose my tenure (and with it my right to due process) and, ultimately, my job. Rather than facilitating "Excellence For All Children", the TEAM evaluation system, if anything, encourages and ultimately rewards soulless, scripted, teach-to-the-test instruction on the part of teachers and passive, passionless, rote "learning" on the part of students - a recipe for educational malpractice if ever there was one.
Being a teacher allows me to talk to other teachers on a regular basis, socially and "off the record". Being a veteran teacher means I talk to LOTS of other teachers. And while I will not pretend to speak for any teachers other than myself, I have yet to speak to a single individual who has faith or confidence in the TEAM evaluation system. The reasons are varied and numerous - some related to the present organizational/leadership culture within Knox County Schools, some related to the mechanics and design of the TEAM evaluation system itself, but most a combination of the two.
In short:
*A management culture within KCS of punitive sanctions, threats, and enforced silence which apparently originates at the office of the superintendent. A management culture which seeks to embrace image over results at all costs. Teachers are told by their various supervisors (A.J building level) to KEEP QUIET and, if asked, to PUBLICLY AGREE with KCS policy (or else). I have experienced this myself as have many of my colleagues. It has been mentioned previously here on the School Matters forum as well as other local forums and independent media sites. It is a management culture where professional educators feel devalued, deprofessionalized, and seen as little more than numbers (ripe for downsizing) on a ledger titled "personnel budget".

*Additionally, although the School Board has repeatedly praised our superintendent Dr. McIntyre in their evaluations of his performance as "having the support" of front-line educators, my own experience in speaking with my colleagues (socially and off the record, of course) has been quite the opposite. At best, he is considered by some to be likable, yet ineffective and inexperienced. Many consider him to be autocratic, self-serving, and disingenuous. More consider him hostile to teachers as evidenced by his (unsuccessful) attempt to unilaterally freeze step raises for certified personnel, his marginalization of KCEA following the recent passage of the anti-collective bargaining law in Nashville, and his ongoing affiliation with the pro-privatization, business-modeled Broad Foundation as evidenced by his hiring of additional Broad "fellows" into his (already thought to be overstaffed) central office staff. Still others are deeply resentful of what truly appears to be an exceedingly excessive salary and benefits package awarded to him by the school board, especially when Knox County pays its teachers so poorly in comparison to similarly-sized counties and offers a benefits package in which family health coverage is almost unaffordable. Finally, it DOES appear somewhat disingenuous of McIntyre to bill himself as an "educator" when he has only 9 months of teaching experience on which to make that claim - well short of TNs requirement for even "apprentice" licensure. And while Dr. Mcintyre has, as he stated he intended to do in his initial application for his current position "Made the media part of the process" in implementing his policy which has resulted in nothing but favorable media coverage locally, I would like to invite you to review some dissenting views regarding McIntyre's performance in independent media sources such as this:
(link...)
(Since the School Board IS the only body to which McIntyre must report and on which his continued employment hinges, I thought it appropriate that the board be made aware of ALL perceptions of his performance.)

*Furthermore, front-line educators already feel under attack, underappreciated, and unjustly blamed by the public and media for a public education system which is clearly NOT performing. The reasons for this are many, but we are (again) "not allowed" to speak up, share opinions, or offer solutions.

In addition to the above-described managerial environment under which our teachers work, and in combination with KCEA / TEA being rendered all but ineffective due to recently-passed legislation (in which McIntyre was reported to have participated), and in further part due to the placement of Kevin Huffman (Teach For America) as Governor Haslam's main education policymaker, teachers feel disenfranchised, marginalized, deprofessionalized, and highly expendable. Experience is now felt to be a liability as it is correlated with higher pay and therefor may negatively impact KCS's "bottom line". Teach For America recruits, who, as you know, teach for two years before moving to guaranteed and often-lucrative positions in the private sector, are seen as cheap "replacements" for seasoned (expensive) educators who will be forced out as a result of the TEAM evaluation model. As you may be aware, experienced teachers are retiring this year in DROVES. Not just in Knoxville but state-wide, as this article from The Tennessean describes: (link...) . The comments from teachers posted on the website echo what I have heard (and believe) myself.

Compounding this situation is an already critically low level of morale among our front-line teachers. McIntyre was informed of this first hand and in-person at one of the town-hall style meetings he hosted, the video of which is available on the KCS website although his response to this information is not heard due to a faulty microphone. Is the school board aware of this crisis in morale? I would think it unlikely as it appears that the only information you hear is from McIntyre himself, who clearly has a vested interest in "looking good". Rightly or wrongly, the school board is viewed by most as little more than a rubber stamp for McIntyre - rarely if ever questioning his goals or seeking accountability for HIS performance. Please do not take this as a criticism. I believe that honesty is key to successful attainment of goals, and it is in this spirit which I pass this information along to you. Our front-line educators have been frightened and cowed from speaking truth to power for too long.
Knox County schools has a morale problem, caused and compounded by a severe management problem, a public-relations problem, and an acute personnel problem created by the current flight of experienced educators from it's ranks - diminishing KCS's institutional memory and depriving newer educators of opportunities for valuable professional mentoring and support. These are EXACTLY the people we NEED to keep! As the TEAM process is a state-wide mandate, I am aware that there is little the board can do about its implementation. However, I must call upon the board to address the surrounding issues of management, supervision, teacher support, and overall morale for those of us who do the important work for children, day in and day out. When these issues are addressed, perhaps THEN teachers will be able to rebuild trust with those in central office and beyond and ultimately "warm up" to and feel less threatened by this new evaluation system.
Thank you for your time, and for the job you continue to do for the children of our county.

McIntyre is a Broad foundation graduate so it's critical to understand his training. Read the Seattle Parents' research on the money and influence of this business organization on our kids education:

(link...)

Follow up with a background read about the think-tanks producing what Bruce Baker at Rutgers calls 'hack science". "Is it research or propaganda?". Note: McIntyre's agenda is based on hack research not peer reviewed science.
(link...)

Bruce Baker crunches the numbers and discredits the edu-hacks here:
(link...)

The TEAM evaluation model is COMPLETELY rigged. Even more rigged is the "APEX" performance / incentive pay which McIntyre has, on his own initiative, attached to the TEAM eval - ostensibly to "reward excellence".

What a crock.

One scientific study after another has definitively concluded that pay-for-performance does NOT "raise test scores", correlate to student achievement in ANY way, is highly detrimental to teacher morale, and diminishes professional collaboration between educators.

Just like Vegas, the odds are on the house. Except this time the "house" is the AJ building and the odds are BETTER for winning a Vegas jackpot than scoring above a "3" on the TEAM evaluation, earning a "bonus" on top of that, and winning THREE CONSECUTIVE jackpots to simply earn the right to due process prior to termination, also known (and often terribly misunderstood) as "tenure".

Thank you , also, for sharing the information about McIntyre's Broad Institute / Broad Foundation connections. The more that people wake up to Broad's influence in KCS, as well as the pseudo-"science" touted by he and similar corporate "reformers" in order to justify their dubious aims, the better.

Maybe our political circus sideshow of a State Legislature should have given this evaluation system a "close look" BEFORE they ramrodded it into the realm of official policy.

(link...)