Voices in the Feminine - Digital Delights

Educator evaluation is the antidote du jour to the plague of "poor teacher quality." I don't hold out as much hope for evaluation as many policymakers do because I think "teacher quality" is an incorrect diagnosis of the disease, which makes me skeptical of the cure. We certainly have a challenge of teaching quality. But I'm doubtful that teacher evaluation is going to make much of a dent in that problem—in part because we're not making the skill and knowledge investments we need (for example, ensuring that evaluators know enough about effective teaching and how to support it); in part because teacher evaluation tends to put the focus on teaching rather than on learning; and in part because we're relying too much on it without complementary investments in other areas. It's a little like thinking that standardized tests are going to solve all our achievement problems. What's abundantly clear from the last 20 years is that data can help shine a light on problems, but data alone won't solve them.