Monday, February 22, 2010

American Government 2/22/10

In Class - Take out your current events that you found last week while in the library concerning education reform. For the first fifteen minutes of class, read your articles. Highlight or underline any key points or important information. Next, I want you to make a list of five questions you have concerning education reform in this country. Get into your groups, and I want you to discuss your questions and articles. When you are done, each person needs to write a summary of what the group discussed including any relevant or important information. Turn this in before you leave.

Homework - None. QOW due on Friday by 11:59 pm.

Articles to check out for the QOW:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704804204575069502242529826.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/17/local/la-me-schools-race17-2010feb17
http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958

Do some research using the articles above and on your own (check my blog throughout the week). Using concrete and sound arguments from the articles above and from articles throughout the week, respond to the following question: In terms of education reform, should teachers be evaluated more frequently and should student test scores and grades be linked to teacher evaluations? Why or why not? Be sure you include evidence from the articles and other sources to convey your thoughts and opinions. Be honest, and don't hold back your opinions. I want to know what you think.

All responses must include citations and a works cited page (MLA format). Just listing the website of the article will not due. In fact, you no longer need the website to cite your sources. No citations, no works cited, no credit!

56 comments:

brenda g 106 said...

"Union leaders have argued that the state's standardized tests are too flawed to be used for high-stakes decisions."

Song, Jason. "Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money." Http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/17/local/la-me-schools-race17-2010feb17?pg=2. Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.

Test scores show the expectations that the test writers hope. Ignoring what lesson plan has been put in place isn't their worry. I greatly disagree with the loose standards. Standardized test scores show what the state wants. Also there are students who are either learning English or just don't pay attention. It's unfair to new students set in a class and lazy ones slack off. Grading papers for Mr. Pike really shows their attention span; nothing impressive. There are few that do care but overall in that one class I oversee with the new to be juniors are a bad bunch, grade wise.
Basing loose scores for a crucial funding is dangerous.

"Los Angeles Unified Supt. Ramon C. Cortines and school board President Monica Garcia signed the application, but the city teachers union declined, saying the grant money would provide only a short-term fix for long-term problems."

Song, Jason. "Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money." Http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/17/local/la-me-schools-race17-2010feb17?pg=2. Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.

The money from the grant will go away, which is a problem. Signing up for such a thing is good for a bit but its not like it's going to last. Class sizes will remain the same number, I think. Teaching is already hard with oversized classes.
Our state is underfunded for education and the money given can't stop that. Maybe by some slim chance unless the students pick up their weight.
Mr. Palo from my time grading in Mr. Pike's room I see that many kids don't care for their grades and they complain. Well money can't solve their mindsets and attitudes. President Obama is right about many things. However his point on "There is no excuse to give up" sticks out. I'm not saying that they don't give up, they're just lazy. Good, kind and fair teachers shouldn't pay for his or her students laziness, should they?

Fidencio Romero said...

I believe that teachers should be evaluated more frequently. To show that they are teaching the right materials to the students. At Central Falls High School in Rhode Island less than half the students graduate, only seven percent are proficient in math and almost all live in poverty (Miller 2010). This is one reason why teachers should be evaluated more often, because of the test scores the schools receive. It proves that the teachers at Central Falls high school aren’t teaching them the right standards. Though sometimes it’s the students that just don’t care about their education. However there is that small group of teachers that are not teaching the right materials. I have encountered a teacher like this in middle school. He never taught us nothing, all he would talk about was his life and random things that were irrelevant to the subject. This teacher was one of the reasons why I didn’t know anything when it came to take the benchmark. Furthermore if they did evaluate teachers, test scores would probably increase. On the other hand they will know that the teachers are not the problem, it’s the students ability to learn. Yes I do believe that students test scores and grades should be linked to their evaluation. To show that their are students in the class capable of learning the material. Also it will show that they are teaching them something at least. Though one thing they should look at is how they are grading the students. Also their grades will determine if the teacher is teaching them the right material for the students to be passing the class. Test scores will make a big impact on the teachers evaluation since it will test the students to see if there teacher is teaching them the right standards.

- Miller, Maureen. “Evening Buzz: Fire Teachers for Failing School.” CNN.com, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. .

Fidencio Romero Per.4

Davion B. said...

-I do think that teachers should be evaluated more frequently and yes test scores and grades should also be linked to teacher evaluation. Here is why i believe they should.

"Central Falls HS

Central Falls High School has been classified by the state Department of Education as a chronically underperforming school for seven years. The most recent information on the school:

808 -- Number of students

74 -- Number of teachers

96% -- Students in poverty

47.7% -- Graduation rate

55% -- Proficient in reading

7% -- Proficient in math"

-This shows me that either the teachers dont know how to teach or the students just dont understand the material that is being taught in class. 7% of Central Falls HS is proficient in math which means 93% are either average or below average. The other thing that caught my eye was that 47.7% of the school graduates. How is this even possible? Its really sad that most of the kids at that school arent graduating. So yes I do believe its the teachers fault but you cant put all the blame on them. Its also the principals fault for letting this continue. Also, the kids at the school are to blame too.

"All students are required to be proficient by 2014"(Sam Dillon2010)

-I disagree with this one. It doesnt seem like a goal thats going to ever happen. We have students at school that play around in class or students that only show up once or twice a year. Do you think they will be proficient in any class if they were never there to study and learn the material? DISAGREE

"Mathematics achievement is not close to where it should be, a major reason continues to be the lack of content knowledge and mathematics prepartion of our teachers"-David P. Driscoll
(Sam Dillon 2010)

-This is another example why teachers should be blamed for the low math scores in school. They dont even understand the problems themselves. They have get more training so they can teach the work.

WORKS CITIED PAGE MLA FORMAT

Sam Dillon. "Obama to Seek Sweeping Change in 'No Child' Law:[National Desk]." New York Times

1 Feb. 2010, Late Edition(East Coast): New York Times, Proquest. Web. 19 Feb.2010

Sam Dillon. "Math Scores Falling Short Of Goals Set by Law:[National Desk]." New York Times 15

Oct. 2009, Lated edition(East Coast): New York Times, Proquest. Web. 19 Feb.2010

Borg, Linda, and Paul Davis. "Central Falls superintendent acts to fire citys high school teachers | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal." Rhode Island, Providence, news, sports, entertainment, ads | projo.com | The Providence Journal. 11 Feb. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2010. .

lizz said...

Ater researching about education reform and how many students are being failed because they dont meet state testing standards i believe that teachers should be evaluated more often.This is only to make shure that teachers are giving thse students the education they need and that a certain curriculum is being followed. I wouldnt blame only the teachers students play a big part on weather or not they decide to good in school and if they want to graduate or not.For example that school in Rhode Island, the teachers are not entirely the cause of low scores and failing students,Shure they may not know what they are doing as teachers but the students are not very responsible and are lacking accountability.Just because the students live in poverty doesnt mean that they dont have to try.(Miller 2010) I dont think the teachers in that school should be fired they should just be evaluated a lot more.
Miller Maureen."Evening Buzz:Fire Teachers for Failing Schools"CNN.com 22 Feb. 2010 24 Feb.2010
Elizabeth Lozano
per.2

chickenkoongoose said...

Ukpono Udi
Gov. P.3
Question of the Week
This question of the week is interesting because the articles given throughout this week don’t show you exactly what to say like the other questions of the week. There more or less showing you the actions that are being taken by the teachers and the government in this education reform situation. So I thought I’d start this response with a quote by William Kane he said, “As a former tenured full professor at a major university, I had to leave and find a "better class of losers" just to keep my sanity. A more dysfunctional, incompetent, mean, nasty, unethical group of people I have yet to find in the private sector. The elimination of tenure would be the single most effective means of improving education in this country from Kindergarten through the university (Kane and Times).” After reviewing the article it and reading many comments this one stood out. For a professor to talk so down about a system that protected him throughout his career means there is a big problem. Now relation from this article to the actual question of the week is that the problem with teachers is that there tenure is holding them back from being challenged. Instead of teachers becoming better teachers every year they settle to receive tenure and behave in a less caring matter. Now this never applies for all teachers, however, if we removed this so called tenure and every end of the year students with 2.5 and higher evaluate their teachers as well as the regular evaluations and their job can be put up for firing at any end of a year. I think it’s high time that teachers are treated like other workers they may have their union, but they may no longer have the chance to be mediocre and un cultivating to the students. Those teachers who truly are not part of the problem will have no issue with this because it’s very possible that these students love these teachers anyways.
To answer the second part of the question of the week about if students test scores and grades should be linked to a teacher’s evaluation I say well yea but, however, it depends on the student. Now if we take every student grades and test scores then we would get those who never care nor show any responsibility for their own education then how will we know how the teacher are truly performing. We should only take those who have a history of decent grades who show some type of progress or at least a stagnant C average. That way we can base the evaluation on regular to Honor roll students and the teacher will be well represented. President Obama said that students have no excuse not to take responsibility to succeed in their education (Obama). This is 100 % completely true, but now he must also make a statement saying that teachers should make no excuse to not build a student to their full potential. If I must get moral I believe that if you became a teacher it means you love a subject so much you want to help students to; learn, understand, and even maybe have the same love you have for the subject. So though it is necessary that we pay are teachers well for their hard works they must remember that their pay is not the reason they became a teacher if so they wouldn’t have become a teacher so through these ruff times they must think of themselves as Humanitarians because they are helping to ensure that we have a better educated society.

Works Cited
Kane, William and Los Angeles Times. "No (Tenured) Teacher Left Behind." 22 February 2010. Wall Street Journal Digital Network. 24 February 2010 .
Obama, Barack. The White House President Barack Obama. 8 September 2009. 24 February 2010 .

ALEJANDRA(: said...

I think that teachers should be evaluated more in their classrooms. At Central Falls Highschool 7% are proficient in math. That could have something to do with the teachers and the way they teach, or it could be because of the students and they just don't care. But I believe it's the teachers fault for that percentage. Some teachers just don't care to teach, as long as they're getting paid they could care less about how well their students are doing, or even if they graduate. The tenure to me is ridiculolus. If that teacher isn;t doing a good job at teaching their students, they should be let go. The teachers that do seem to get fired are the ones who actually care about their students education and want them to succeed. The teachers should not only be evaluated by the district, but also by students. Students are the ones in the classroom with them everyday, so they would know if the teacher is doing a good job all the time,instead of just that one day that they were being evaluated. Crest Fall teachers were upset because they all got fired because they weren't granted a raise. If they were doing a good job with the students and they did a good job at teaching then maybe a raise would be issued, but sense it doesn't even come close they should get fired. With all that is going on with Crest Fall, teachers should definatly be evaluated much more often instead of just once or twice a year.

Alejandra Justo
-Period 4


- Miller, Maureen. “Evening Buzz: Fire Teachers for Failing School.” CNN.com, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. .

Kimberly Becerra said...

In terms of education reform, I think teachers should be evaluated more frequently. There are teachers in our school who just shouldn’t be teaching, they don’t know how to. “Districts should take steps to move bad teachers out of the classroom (Obama 2009).” This proposal to education reform would help students in their academic year, more students would learn with a better teacher. “Better educated workforce will enhance the nation’s long-term prosperity (Obama 2009).” Teachers that students think don’t know how to teach just lack their way of learning. Then again who takes a final decision if a teacher doesn’t know how to teach? On the other hand teachers that know how to teach keep becoming better and help students out. It would be a general idea for educational reform. “Schools should be accountable for students learning, not less (Mortimer B. Zuckerman). Teachers have a lot to do in what the students learn in my opinion, if they teach the subject where its understandable students learn. “School reformers generally agree that the most important education source is the teacher (No (Tenured) teacher left behind).” I agree with this because I think its true but teachers should be evaluated on a basis to decide if they really are the source.
I don’t think students test scores and grades should be linked to a teachers evaluation. There are students who don’t like school and don’t do their work. If they have a bad grad it’s their fault some don’t like doing the work and are lazy. In the article “Obama urges education reform”, he states “there should be less difference when it comes to benchmarks for academic success.” I agree tests are always to see what you know but some students just do bad. That doesn’t prove their knowledge is dumb I think everyone gets lazy and guesses at times students knowledge is different. A student who shows up to class once a month may do better than one who goes daily I mean it’s rare but true. In the article listed above Obama states that “a 4th grade reader in Mississippi is scoring 70 points lower than students in Wyoming, yet both have the same grade.” I think it depends on every student’s knowledge, in my opinion this shouldn’t go towards a teacher’s evaluation.

Citations:
• Zuckerman. B. Mortimer. “Education Reform Consensus Grows on Fixing Urban Schools.” U.S News. U.S News & World Report, 2 February 2009. Web. 21 February 2010 .
• Jackson, David. “Obama Urges Education Reform.” USA Today. USA Weekend, 10 March 2009. Web. 21 February 2010.
• Ducane Arne. “Education Reform’s Moon Shot.” The Washington’s Post. The Washington’s Post Company, 24 July 2009.

Chelsea said...

My opinion is that the student’s grades and test scores should reflect on the teacher and not. It should reflect because it shows that the teacher is doing his/ her job and is teaching the students what they need to learn. The students need education to be prepared for the future and for them to apply their skills to what they want to do. It should not reflect on the teacher as well because it’s the student’s job to come to class prepared, with a great attitude and to be focused on to the teacher to learn. Its all both the teacher and student to both apply their jobs together and both proceed to teach and learn from each other. I completely understand if the teacher is not teaching or the student does not want to learn, that’s where the evaluation comes in. I think that the teacher should get a value evaluation from his students and the students from their teachers as well. By evaluating the teachers and disciplining the student will make more education come
Out hopefully.
Chelsea Chavez period:4

crystal said...

In my opinion I do think teachers should be evaluated from time to time just to check on how there doing and if there teaching the requirements. I know teachers get evaluated today, but how many times is that once a month? They should change for maybe once a week. As for the students based on their test scores teachers shouldn’t be evaluated by that because some students don’t care about their grades and don’t take the test serious or they just don’t pay attention in class and that’s not the teachers fault because the teachers tried and if the students don’t care then why should the test scores affect the teachers? That’s what I think teachers should be exalted frequently but not based on test scores.


Crystal period 2.

OmgPerkins said...

Patrick Riggs. “Race to Where?” Times-Standard. 02//18/2010 02:42:50 AM PST. http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958. 02/25/2010.

Okay, first off, education starts at HOME, not with teachers. Teachers are the ones who teach, obviously, but the parents at home need to let their children know what they are going to be learning, how they are going to learn it, and what they should do to prepare for school. Parents need to be more in-tune with their children’s education and how they learn. Anyways, now, about this new federal program that is going to offer over $4.3 billion dollars for school district funds, and about $700 million to California, is a great thing! It would most definitely help with the struggle that schools are having around the US. However, teachers refuse it. Teachers receive tenure after teaching for as little as two years, which is ridiculous and who knows if those teachers are performing as well as they should be, since they can’t be fired after they receive tenure. I do believe they need to be evaluated more often, and yes I do believe that the scores of their students should reflect most of their evaluation. A good teacher will teach each and everyone of their students the exact same way, yet a GREAT teacher will analyze every student and teach them in a way that they will understand, and help them succeed in the class, and possibly later in life.

DawnMcNulty said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
DawnMcNulty said...

I think it would be a great idea in education reform to have teachers more frequently evaluated because of the fact that some teachers after a certain point just get lazy or are otherwise less passionate and, less motivated as they once were about teaching. By having more frquent evaluations or possibly even surprise evaluations it would keep teachers on their toes and, hopefully make them always put their best effort into each of their lessons. However on the other hand I'm not so sure we should completely blame teachers for students poor test scores or entirely link the two together, because no matter how great a teacher is or how motivating they are if a student does not want to learn they are not going to learn and, linking the two together would also possibly give kids another cop-out excuse for why they have poor grades. President Obamas newest plan for education reform is "Race" or "competion" for the bugeted $4.3 billion, of which California is allowed $700 million. "In California, this included a change that was vigorously opposed by unions and others: linking teacher evaluations to their students' test scores.States will be judged on a 500-point scale, and federal officials have said that only a few will get funding, although there will be a second round this year. Nearly 10% of the total score depends on securing commitments from school districts"(Jason Song, LA Times). Most states and school districts disagree with the reform idea because of the fact that for one the govenor is allowed to keep half of the $700 million if he chooses so, and because the way in which how the money is determined to be divided is "impractical, and unfair to those who's students don't necessarily perform will on test". "How do we fairly and accurately measure teacher performance when so much of a student’s academic success depends on his or her home life, and the quality of the parenting he or she receives?"(Tony Hugel 2010). In the long I think that yes teachers should be evaluated more but if that is going to be the only reasons they improve their teaching methods, and because they get money for the school then I think teachers improving for that reason only should be fired or shouldn't have stared teaching in the first place.

Work Cited

Tom Ashbrook."Teacher and education reform". Onpointradio.org. Jan 26th 2010.


Jason Song."Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money". Latimes.com. Feb. 17th 2010.

bRiDgEt said...

In terms of education reform, I think that teachers should be evaluated more frequently,just to keep them on track. To make sure that they are teaching the right materials. However I think that students should be the ones evaluated more then the teachers."..your teachers and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education...but you've got to do your part too (Obama 2009)."I think that the students test scores and grades should be somewhat linked with there teachers. Although not as much as were the teachers get in trouble for the student actions. I think that a student can have the best teacher and still fail the class. In the other hand a student can also have the worst teacher and still have good grades. I personally have had occasions were my teachers aren't as good. However I pay attention and also do extra things just to get the correct information and to earn a good grade in the class. Although I have also have been taught by good teachers. They are the ones that made my studies more easier,but I am the one that choose to pay attention in class. So I believe that the student is the only one that can choose what they want to do. Just because no one can force a student to do good in test,homework or show up to class. Is the student who has to want to attend school,study for there test, and do their homework. If not even a parent can force their own kids,why and how would a teacher do that. Is the responsibility of the student to do what they have to do to earn good grades. So I believe that student grades or test scores should not be linked to teachers evaluation.Yeah teachers have a lot to do in a students learning,but is the student that will choose if they want to pay attention in class or just goof off in there own world.



Sam Dillon."Obama to seek Sweeping Change In 'No Child' Law:[National Desk]." New York Times 1 Feb.2010, Late Edition(East Coast):New York Times,ProQuest. Web. 19 Feb.2010
President Barack Obama. Back to School Even at Arlington,Virgina 8 September 2009

SLacy222 said...

Today in education, we have many different opinions on how education should be established in schools and how administrators need to be willing and determine to do whatever is needed for the students to succeed in school and help them continually grow as an individual. As a student involved in this reform to help necessitate education, I believe that teachers should not be held accountable for the students lack of education. You cannot teach students that do not have the eagerness to learn and do not have the mental capacity to learn. Teachers should not be held responsible for the students bad on scores on standardized tests. However, it should be in the right mind for administrators of schools across the nation that should encourage students to learn and wanting the students to obtain knowledge through their teaching. As in an article I have read it said, “Each student is a child, a unique human being with unique strengths and weaknesses and a unique familial, cultural, and linguistic background” (Riggs). What this man said is exactly my point; each student is a different individual that has strengths and weaknesses just like his fellow classmate. Each student is diverse than his classmate and may not be eager to learn or be a part of school for that matter. Besides all these opinions on education, we need to come together on some of agreement and think what is the best way for students to get the best education they can possibly get.

Work Cited

Riggs, Patrick. "Race to where? - Times-Standard Online." Home - Times-Standard Online. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. .

Shawn Lacy
P.2

SLacy222 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eop Jay said...

Well first off, I think this topic is extremely vague, in the sens that it depends on the given stiuation. But as for my answer im going to have to say yes.
Test is not only what should be used to evaluate test scores, but also the students. Now, when I say test, I do not mean the star testing, because i believe that star testing is a load of crap. When I say test I am refering to class room test.
The reason I say no to star testing is because I rember when I took mine. They made me take a math test even though i had not taken math in two years, along with science, so of course my scores were barley profecient. Also seeing that these test do not affect your grade, students do not care about how they score. So whn i say test I refer to in class test. I believe this shows a fair reflection of both student and teacher work ethics.
When you think of schools that have low test scores, such as the Rhode island institute, I believe that the situation then becomes a little more complicated and more drastic measure are required. Now I want to clarify that I do not believe firing all of the teachers was the right thing to do, however, when an entire school is having issues, year in and year out, it obviously is not the students.

-Jordan Dotson. Period 2

Anonymous said...

Why should teachers be tested, tests don't tell anybody anything. A teachers teaching day doesn't depend on whatever the test would have on it. What really should happen is the teachers should be monitored every once in awhile by a pulled aside student willing to were a recording bug in class. No one might like this idea, but it's the only way the monitors can see what a class is really teaching and whats actually getting done.

"Standardized multiple choice test scores may have a place in measuring student achievement when they are part of a measurement system that includes such other elements as observations of student work, student portfolios, student conferences and teacher-designed classroom assessments, to cite a few; but they are generally more effective at measuring a student's socioeconomic and linguistic advantages and disadvantages rather than actual learning."

Patrick Riggs "Race to where?"http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958. Times-Standard 02/18/2010 02:42:50 AM PST

These Standardized test that are given every year, are hardly close to relevant. In High School and Middle School what you are really graded on is the work you turn in and the tests you pass. These test that are given aren't close to what the class rooms are teaching especially the English part. The history, mathematical, and science do a okay job of determining what you know, but how teachers are teaching the material in class isn't being taught in away that can be memorized over along Period of time. It's only stored in the short period section of our mind. If these test were given right after we had gone over it in class the results would double.

"Race To The Top, however, places more emphasis on the standardized test scores while correspondingly giving less consideration to the whole student."

Patrick Riggs "Race to where?"http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958. Times-Standard 02/18/2010 02:42:50 AM PST

"Moreover, a teacher can only teach the children in his or her class in a particular year. Students from economically advantaged backgrounds who are well prepared for school invariably outscore students from low socioeconomic conditions, or students whose home environments are limited English speaking."

Patrick Riggs "Race to where?"http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958. Times-Standard 02/18/2010 02:42:50 AM PST

I believe that every student that fails a class isn't trying or just doesn't care. It's not the teachers fault. At every school you can make a friend or find somebody to help you. Most teachers are lazy and don't care, but you can't just blame them. If you want to learn and excel you will. It's up to the students. The teachers can't help students that don't want to be helped.

Kenton Goodburn P4

LizzieG4 said...

Honestly, I do not think that teachers should be evaluated due to the fact that most kids don't take the standardized test seriously I know myself that I get so bored while taking those tests that towards the end I just start guessing. Some teachers should be evaluated more frequently because not every teacher is a good teacher. As a student I think we should be able to evaluate our teachers individually, after all we are the ones that can benefit from it. If the teacher is truly a good educator, it should show in their student evaluations. The teacher’s seniority should have no impact on whether or not we should lay them off. A good teacher shouldn’t be based on how many years they have been working. In the article I read it stated “School reformers generally agree that the most important education resource is the teacher”. I strongly agree with that statement because they are the basis of our overall education.

LizzieG4 said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704804204575069502242529826.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

gabby. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gabby. said...

In my opinion, this whole debate about what state should get "this amount of money" is just complete nonsense to me. I do not think it is right that we as student do not really get much of a say over any of the reforms. I as a soon to be college student, I want to be able to get all of the education I may need. The fact that any of this is even being questioned, to be quite frank it really sucks. The state of California is obviously a huge state and it's highly populated, We should be given more money to spend on schools or simply build new schools, since most classroom are very full. Now, going back to the question of who I should think should be evaluated much more? Well that too me is simple. I highly believe that a student should be evaluated much more than a teacher. However, I'm not saying we shouldn't evaluate a teacher. I am just a believer that you cannot make any student do what he/ she does not want to do. I believe that we as students should be responsible enough to become educated, it is not all up to the teachers. Sure, some teachers really shouldn't be teaching anything but reality is, that if we as students don't take the initiative to get an education, well then that is just our fault. like president Obama said "There is no excuse to give up". I completely agree with him. We shouldn't give up some of our parents came to this country so we can get a greater education and have a better lifestyle than they had so I think we should take full advantage of that, I know I will. I also don't think it's very fair for a teacher to have to pay any consequences based on the standarized testing, Some students don't even take the testing seriously and all they do is bubble in any answer that they feel like.

Song, Jason. "Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money." Http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/17/local/la-me-schools-race17-2010feb17
President Barack Obama's back to school speech.
Arlington,Virgina 8 September 2009

Gabby Cervantes
Period.2

ImariL14 said...

I think that although the teachers do have a big part in the test scores and how well the students learn the information, it is not fully their fault. A suggestion for a resolution to this would be to have a pre-test on the material and then a post-test to see how many the students actually learned. Some students do not fully try in certain situations. I also think that teacher evaluations should not be scheduled and should just be a surprise attack. I think that the evaluation would be more accurate and teachers would be more prepared all the time instead of on a single occasion which is scheduled.
I don’t necessarily think that teachers should be the full blame for this outcome. Parents also play a very significant role in a student’s life. If they are not there for support and encouragement then that could also be a problem. With that being said I don’t think that test scores and a student’s grade or progress in school should be put fully on the teacher. Speaking for my own experience I know that some students do not try all the time, especially if they dislike the teacher. Now if students were informed that the teacher’s job depended on how well they did, they would definitely or purposely put that teacher’s job at stake by blowing a test or something of that sort. I don’t necessarily think that the blame can be on one person or focused on one group. Everyone had their part in this and instead of blaming people why don’t we just find a solution to fix it!

- Miller, Maureen. “Evening Buzz: Fire Teachers for Failing School.” CNN.com, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 26Feb. 2010. .

-Imari LaMar <3

eliziel said...

I think that teachers should be more evaluated because there is some teachers that just sit around and dont teach anything for example one of my teachers i dont want to say any names but i always ask for help and he doesnt even help matter of fact everybody that asks for help gets ignored he would be like you should have paid attention when i went over it and he only does one or two examples and expects us to do the whole chapter



- Miller, Maureen. “Evening Buzz: Fire Teachers for Failing School.” CNN.com, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. .

*julie* said...

in terms of educational reform I feel like teachers should be evaluated more frequently because this way the state and the school would know if the teachers are doing their job. many teachers now in days tend to slack off in class, they don’t teach students in a way that students would understand. I feel almost Embarrassed that teachers (for being lazy) give us easy work to do. do they think were dumb!? I’ve had those kind of teachers before and even though its an easy A it doesn’t motivate me to work harder. and if teachers don’t challenge us then students to get motivated and succeed. I also agree that students tests scores should also be seen for teacher evaluation because that way the school board would see that teachers with the most failing kids and try to figure out the problem. I heard a quote once that goes " if the student fails its not the students fault, its the teachers for not teaching them right" many would disagree but I agree with this quote I have had teachers who would never teach anything! and eventually I failed that class. one year later I decided to take that class again but with a different teacher and I loved the way she taught she motivated me and gave outstanding lectures I passed her class with an A. so I do think teachers have a little fault with failing kids but kids should also be willing to do their part

<3julie monroy<3 per. 4

LyDia:) said...

Teachers should be evaluated more frequently and without prior notice, because if they know in advance of course there going to conduct a class session accurately. Test scores if included are the standardized tests they should not depend on the teacher. Not all teachers run their class or “teach” as they should and indeed that does affect the knowledge we attain but I believe it comes down to class size. There are nearly 40 students per teacher and a very limited number are either motivated or care and a teacher that is doing their job but students don’t care to pay attention shouldn’t affect the teacher. Then again that interferes with the union of seniority that states if teachers have worked for so long they can’t be fired. If they can’t be fired then why would they care? Because not all are in it for the students the majority are in it for the paycheck. By evaluating teachers on a frequent basis that benefits both the student and them because the evaluation all show if indeed they are doing their job. In addition all these reforms that are trying to go through make me question if they will indeed change the system. As stated in article number two "It's not what I would have hoped for," said state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles). Why is California scared of competing in the program?

Song, Jason. "Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money." Http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/17/local/la-me-schools-race17-2010feb17?pg=2. Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2010. Fri. 26 Feb. 2010.

Lydia Jones
Period 4

OmgPerkins said...

NOTE: This is the summary from the article Joe Klein wrote.

This article states that teacher's unions are getting in the way of a chance for the states to receive up to $700 million in the Race to the Top education funds. The reform that Arne Duncan described, was to "demand more school choice and competition as well as an emphasis on teacher evaluation and accountability." I take it, in my opinion, that teachers don't like this idea because of the fact that they will be evaluated more, and held accountable for additional things. However, I do believe this is a great reform idea, and all teachers should be evaluated more and have their student's grades reflect how they are teaching in their own classrooms. Our schools need more money so we can advance our ways of learning in the classrooms. Without money, we can't buy bigger and better technology for out schools.

Sean C said...

The first article that I read I felt was complete ridiculousness, I mean a teacher only really has to try for 2-3 years before they can just do what they want in class and not even really teach students. Although I am a firm believer that an education does start at home with your parents a part of your education comes from teacher. I’m not saying that all teachers do this but I’m saying that if a teacher decides that after they get tenured they don’t want to work to teach students to their fullest ability they don’t deserve to keep their jobs. Therefore I feel that teachers need to be evaluated as much as is possible to make sure that they are doing their job as teachers. The second article I read on how California school districts are denying the Obama administration just to earn a few extra dollars seems hard to believe. I feel the people who become a teacher shouldn’t be worried about money they she be concerned with getting students to graduate with the highest possible education that can be received. I ultimately feel that teachers aren’t only to blame for the lack of education but I feel that in order to reform we need to start somewhere and that would be in my opinion the smartest place to start. The United States are defiantly following behind in the education department and we need a lot of time and help catching back to where we once were as a nation.

Works Cited:

"Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .

"No (Tenured) Teacher Left Behind - WSJ.com." Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .

Sean Cavenee Period: 4

jarrel thomas said...

I feel that teachers should be evaluated more and especially by student test scores. That’s who they are training for the work force. The next generation of America’s workers and scholars need to be educated correctly and effectively. If those teachers are not doing that and no one sees that happening then America is failing. Why should this career be different from any other? In other careers people get evaluated more than teachers and teaching is one of the most important jobs any were in the world. In an article titled NO (Tenured) Teacher Left Behind the article states. “One of the biggest obstacles to putting a good instructor in every classroom is a tenure system that forces principals to hire and retain teachers based on seniority instead of performance”. Work cited: Los Angeles Times. No (Tenured) Teacher Left Behind [Online] Available http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704804204575069502242529826.html?mod=googlenews_wsj, February 22, 2010. Jarrel Thomas Per 4

aLeX said...

In my opinion teachers should be evaluated more often, to insure that they are doing their job correctly. Yet, i believe that if they are going to do so that they shouldn't warn the teachers about the evaluation. If they are doing their job correctly every day, as they should be, then they shouldn't be worried about when it is that they are going to be evaluated. That way by them knowing they can be evaluated at anytime they would do their job at the best performance, not just when they are being evaluated. This way there could be more good teachers and not just lazy ones that try and give busy work for the whole school year. Because just like there are lazy bad teachers there as good ones as well. Which is why I'm against firing teachers because they haven't worked there long enough despite being a wonderful teacher. "...forces principals to hire and retain teachers based on seniority instead of performance"(Brody, 2010). Actions such as these should be stopped or changed because if making our students advance in education is our goal then why do we expect them to do so with mediocre
teachers?

Now when it comes to linking student's test scores and grades to teacher's evaluation, I'm not sure if I would totally agree with that. The reason is that lets just say that the teacher has received good evaluations through out the year but yet not all of the students are performing at the level they are expected to, it doesn't necessarily mean it's the teacher's fault. There may be students that just don't want to learn and the teachers shouldn't be blamed for that, especially if they are only a few not meeting the standards. You can't expect for all the responsibility to be completely on the teachers, part of their responsibility is to make students want to learn, but education starts at home. Labeling teachers as bad or good ones based on how their students perform goes back to labeling schools "...as failing if even a tiny subgroup of students didn't improve enough" (Mercury). It's not right to penalize so many schools for the simple fact that they didn't all make the standards as a whole. The way I believe is the right way to measure academic growth is by seeing "What is the growth from the beginning of the year to the end" (Brody, 2010), rather then by seeing if they score at the highest we expect them to score in standardized tests. That way schools won't be unfairly labeled as failing when they are actually doing well, also since it seems that the tests seem to be flawed. I say this because there are many great students that do great in school, but yet don't do as expected on the standardized tests.

Overall, I have high hopes for bettering our education such as making sure that no child is left behind. Sadly, i believe that even those these are admirable goals they are very unrealistic. They can't expect for all students to be at a certain level in such a short time especially since we have so much to progress in. Therefore, we need to evaluate teachers more often to make sure they are doing their job.

WORK CITED:

Brody, Leslie. "Obama administration aims to overhaul No Child Left Behind." North Jersey. 2 Feb. 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. .

"No (Tenured) Teacher Left Behind." Opinion Journal. 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .

"Editorial: President Barack Obama trying to transform education in America." Mercury News Editorial. 14 Feb. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2010.

Alex Lopez
Per. 4

Anonymous said...

I think America has one of the best ways of educating children, but I say "The way," not the education system. We need to improve a lot. Yes, we make a new plan every 4 years,the authorities try to shape them the best, they give out good funds too. But the most, the most important thing comes down to teachers and students. The teachers and students are the most important pieces in this puzzle of eduacation. Without them, there is no proficiency, there is no ranking.
For example, lets take the current happenings of Central Falls High School, all 88 teachers are receiving pink slips. Why? Beacuse less than half the students graduate, only seven percent are proficient in math. Most students are doing poor in class. And the school district's board of trustees strictly recommend following measures for teachers:
1. A longer school day of 7 hours
2. Agree to be evaluated by third party
3. meet 90 minutes per week to discuss education matters
4. have lunch with students every once in awhile
5. two weeks of paid professional development during the summer
Works Cited
"Anderson Cooper 360: Blog Archive - Evening Buzz: Fire Teachers for Failing School?" Anderson Cooper 360: - Blogs from CNN.com. 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. .
Yes, maybe these measures can help better the circumstances, but why blame and punish only the teachers. We always talk about the Accountability of the teachers, why don't we ever talk about student's acoountabilties? I am not necessarily favoring teachers. But when we talk about teacher's accountability; let me tell you it does not exist. Yes, it cannot exist by itself, it also needs student's accountability to support it. When these two pieces are joined, only then we get the perfect or almost perfect education system.
I think most teachers always want to teach their students in best way, not all, but students should also put their efforts in it. We watched the documentary about students in different countries, differnces and similarities. But i don't think intelligence, smartness, or knowledge does not come in a person looking at his race or nationality. But rather a person needs support, motivation to achieve them. And those are provided by parents; when a child is born, his brain is zero, it gets filled by what parents, teachers, and peers put in it. And I think that's what's been provided to an Indian student for example. The thing is that most American students are not supported by their parents, that sounds bad, but that's the bitter truth.
The last thing about which I want to discuss is the Laziness. But let me tell you that, that Laziness is created by our Education itself. Confused?
The answer is we provide a lot of oppurtunities. How? A student, beginning from middle school, the oppurtunities go like: oh! didn't take good courses in middle school, take them in high school, oh! wasted the years, take summer school, no summer school?, take night school, not even night school?, take them in college; didn't go to university, go to government college (like UC), no UC, go to community college, no community college, take Adult education.
So we create the Laziness, and then we suffer from it.

Mr.McBride said...

You know i agree with udi, this topic gives me alot to think about and search for to deliver the right well reasoned answer. By right i do not mean fact nor the socially accepted answer but in my eyes the right answer. Teachers have one of the hardest tasks of our time. Not many can stand in front of 150 students a day and force them either through respect or fear of punishment from parents to follow instructions and learn the material at hand. Schools all across our country suffer through hardships such as lack of funds, disobedient students, and lacking environments. However this does not mean that teachers need to be able to avoid examination the rest of their careers. Students teasted do not reflect their knowledge on a subject; but reflect their ability to memorize books and notes. Applying a students knowledge is a more logical way of testing a teachers ability to teach. Theres just one more thing i would like to add for any and all teachers who might read this since i know several use this website... Why is your subject important in todays world?

Eden Huerta said...

I think that student test scores should be linked to teacher evaluations, but to a certain extent. I think that the student’s attendance record and past test scores should be considered before using it against the teachers. “Of course, the schools then have to prove they are in compliance by reporting to the federal government.” (http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958) In situations like these is when my theory would be most necessary because a teacher could be disciplined because of a student that isn’t really even trying and the teacher didn’t have anything to do with his/her failure. I think this would also help teachers that really shouldn’t be teachers stop teaching and help them find another road that they really are destined for. It would also help teachers who are underpaid or not really recognized stand out more for their achievement. I think that more things should be considered in a teachers’ pay instead of just the education they have had. This process of evaluating the students for the teachers’ career should be well thought out because it can result with unhappy teachers or even with unfair results, but with good planning I think it would be a great way to have the best possible teachers teaching.

Eden Huerta Pd. 2

ramon castaneda said...

I think that teacher's should be evaluated more frequently. I think this because most teacher's do not really care about what they teach in the class room. They should also include the student's grades and test scores in the evaluation. I think this because that could also tell the person who is evaluating the teacher how they are doing as a teacher. This is something for the them to take into consideration just in case they have to lay off some teachers. That is why i think that they should take away tenure. It is not fair for the good teachers to be fired while the teachers that are just there for the money to keep their jobs even though they are not doing a good job. Some of the teachers that have tenure have over sized class rooms. This is an issue because those teachers are not doing a very good job in educating the students so there could be a less passing rate or graduating rate.

Per. 4

HorH@y said...

I do agree that teachers should be evaluated more often in their classes to make sure students are getting the education that they need to be successful. I think teachers should be evaluated more in the United Sates because most teachers when they are feeling lazy just slip in a movie for the students to watch that isn’t even related to what they are learning in class. This is just a waste of time and they can be doing that at home. It’s not what we came to school for I understand watching videos that relate to our subjects in class but when watch Disney movies or TV shows in class its useless. It’s wrong that districts evaluate teachers by students test scores because the teacher doesn’t have the power to make students to do well on test the teachers are just there to inform and give students the information that they need to know in that certain subject. Some students also have more advantages then others at studying because some have a nice home and environment to study while others are poor and have many family problems that they have to deal with and cannot study. While reading the article “race to where?” by Patrick Riggs one sentence had caught my attention the most when he was talking about children’s individual strengths and how test are not able to determine what we are good at instead it shows many of our weaknesses. I believe that in high school we should have classes that prepare us for our future careers that we desire and take classes that will help us succeed that goal instead of learning material that students won’t even use in life or their future careers. It would benefit most of our time and if the student is one hundred percent sure that’s what they want to be then they will put all their effort into the work and assignments.

Riggs, Patrick. "Race to where?” “Times-Standard Online." Home - Times-Standard Online. Web. 26 Feb. 2010,www.times-standard.com/othervoices

George Gallardo
Period 2

Giggles82 said...

I think teachers should be evaluated more frequently. However, students test scores and/or grades should not be linked to them. Teacher can’t force the students to want to learn something, as you can probably already see that. It’s up the student to have the ambition to try. It’s definitely no secret that there are a bundle of my classmates who couldn’t care less about how their teacher is evaluated. Most of them probably have no clue that these evaluations can and do effect them.
“In the Race to the Top competition, the administration has required participating states to develop the capability to evaluate teachers based on student test data, at least in part, and on whether teachers are successful in raising student achievement.” Sam Dilion, New York Times. Now I think they can evaluate all they want, but students won’t change, and if/when we do, it will take a long time. Us, American students have adapted to this “lazy, I don’t care enough” attitude. That is what our culture has become. So don’t go on evaluating teachers based on us, because then most of the teachers are screwed. If somebody could come up with a new way of this “evaluating”, then please share. Oh and don’t keep the teachers who don’t care about students and are boring…we don’t like them

Sam Dillon. "Obama to Seek Sweeping Change In 'No Child' Law :[National Desk]. " New York Times 1 Feb. 2010, Late Edition (East Coast): New York Times, ProQuest. Web. 19 Feb. 2010
Shari period 2

Anna Gonzalez ;) said...

Taking a standardized test is not the most accurate method in diagnosing the intelligence of a student and should not be linked to teacher evaluations. According to Patrick Briggs, “Standardized tests and other cookie cutter approaches to measuring so-called student achievement are inherently incapable of accounting for any of the unique human characteristics of each child. They are particularly inept at measuring creativity and critical thinking, two of the most important skills a student can develop. Education is about nurturing human beings, not test-taking robots.” However, when it comes to “measuring creativity and critical thinking”, most teachers these days fail to challenge these skills of a student. In my own experience, I tend to do better in classes where I am challenged more and where I constantly need to do some critical thinking for the work I am assigned. However, if I am in a class where I am constantly being assigned busy work and worksheets where I can easily obtain the answers out of a book, how is that going to challenge my ability to think and learn? I begin to lower my standards for that class and believe that I can get away with not doing certain assignments because I do not see them as benefiting me in any way. This is why Standards need to be raised and students need to be challenged in every class they take in their academic career. Teachers also need to be evaluated more habitually and give students a chance to evaluate teachers as well, and those in charge will be given a chance to see what is really going on in a classroom. They would not be able to obtain the same feedback of a teacher’s performance from someone who does not know the teacher at all, and in most cases a teacher will most likely put on an act to satisfy the needs of the evaluator.

I do believe students’ grades should be linked to teacher evaluations. Grades clearly show whether or not a student is lazy in school and whether or not a teacher is living up to their duty as an educator. This will then tell those in charge that standards need to be raised, bad teachers need to be removed, and more disciplinary action needs to be taken place. It seems as if the United States is focusing too hard on bribing students to do well in school rather than motivating and challenging them.

Briggs, Patrick. “Race to where?” Time- Standard. Medianews Group, 18 February 2010. Web. 26 February 2010.

Anonymous said...

My opinion on if Teachers should be held responsible for their students test scores is kind of a yes and a no, but definitely leaning more towards no. It's been said a million times before, that you can't force anyone to learn who really doesn't want to and to expect teachers to be able to do otherwise is an impossibility. While at the same time, there are those teachers who make it extremely difficult to learn certain subjects because of the way in which they do turns away ones attention span. The school system of course knows about this but California grants tenure to teachers after merely two years in the classroom. So really can't find out the said teacher's failed methods of covering subjects until it's too late and in that regard that teacher should be held accountable for a failing students grade, even though if he didn't understand the material. He could've really just went and found someone else to explain it to him in a better manner but then what's the point of a teacher?

Kane, William and Los Angeles Times. "No (Tenured) Teacher Left Behind." 22 February 2010. Wall Street Journal Digital Network. 24 February 2010 .

janefurdui said...

Yes I do think that teachers should be evaluated more often than not but should the students test scores take part in those evaluations? Does that really show us all that the teacher has to offer? Although the teacher may have done a fine job of teaching the concept, it all comes down to the attitude and actions of the student. There are those students that don't care about their education and come to school for as much as two weeks out of the semester. And we look at our test scores and wonder what we are doing wrong. If the student does not have the eagerness to learn than how are we supposed to change that. "Race To The Top, however, places more emphasis on the standardized test scores while correspondingly giving less consideration to the whole student...Each student is a child, a unique human being with unique strengths and weaknesses and a unique familial, cultural, and linguistic background."(Riggs 2010) Not every kid is the same and can grasp the material as fast as others. Some students succeed without even trying while others use all their energy to study while never achieving as much as they'd hoped. "Union leaders have argued that the state's standardized tests are too flawed to be used for high-stakes decisions."(Song 2010) Some students out there just don't care about their education and just simply "waste" their time in the classrooms. They come to school and take tests and exams without knowing any of the material that is on it. The teacher did his job and tried to help him/her but it was the students choice to fail. If this is the case, than why should his/her scores affect the teacher? The teacher did everything he/she could but it was the student who failed to achieve on his/her own.

Riggs, Patrick. "Race to Where?" Times-Standard. 18 February 2010. Northern California Network. Web. 26 February 2010.

Song, Jason. "Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money." Los Angeles Times. 17 February 2010. Web. 26 February 2010.

janefurdui said...

Jane Furdui(:
Period 2

justinee.grace. said...

Education may not be the first priority in many peoples lives, but education is a big deal whether or not people realize it. Education is a big part of everyones life, and sometimes when you dont put much time into it or care about it, it may effect your future. As we look at evaluating teachers and students about education, do tests scores and grades really matter? In my opinion, no we shouldn't determine whether a teacher is teaching correctly based on their students test scores or their grades. As you look at the race to the top article it explains how it focuses too much on students scores on test than their true knowledge (Riggs, 1).
"Education is about nurturing human beings, not test-taking robots" (Riggs, 1). Just like it says in this quote, we make it seem like were more into getting students to do well on test than actually learning something. I don't think a test should be any part of a teachers evaluation. It shouldn't even determine how smart or hardworking a student is, because it obviously doesn't prove anything.
Multiple choice tests are also a downfall in my opinion. Not everyone may know the answer, but everyone has the possible way of guessing the correct answer (Riggs, 1). And so i thought maybe instead of having multiple choice tests, it would be better to have test where you have to come up with the answer yourself, or even questions where you must work out the question to find out the answer. But is that even a good idea? Probably not..students are lazy and sometimes dont even care about these tests, so what do they do? They guess the answers. So what makes us think that they would even want to try to do a test thats not multiple choice? Would that really help us at all... is there really a perfect way to evaluate teachers and students without having to sit in that exact classroom 24/7?



Work Cited:
Riggs, Patrick. "Race to where?" 18 February 2010. MediaNews Group - Northern California Network. Web. 26 February 2010. http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14424958

-Justine Aguilo period 2

Anonymous said...

Many students are being held back because of their test scores. Teachers should be evaluated often to make sure they are meeting all standards required. I believe teachers should get half of the blame why students fail. The reason for that is because teachers should make sure their students are understanding and learning all the material that is being taught. Teachers and families will all tend to walk away from the most difficult schools in favor of those considered most “successful” based on high standardized test scores (for the Times).Santa Rosa school board members believe they would have to hire additional staff to manage these reporting requirements, which is one reason they declined to seek the funds. The net result is that you have new staff hired on a seemingly permanent basis to report on changes implemented in order to qualify for a small amount of one-time money(for the Times). I also don’t think its fair that teachers should pay for what students do. Some students don’t want to be in school and don’t even try.

Carolina Tinajero
Per 2

kelleyhobbie said...

Based on the education going on in the United States, things need to change. The evaluation of teachers have not really been affected because the students are not doing as well as the should on test scores. I do not necessarily agree with the fact that teachers should be evaluated by the test scores because students do not always care what they score. I also do not agree with the fact that teachers are "safe" after three years and it is really hard to get fired. "California grants tenure to teachers after merely two years in the classroom. New York, like most other states, makes teachers wait a grand total of three years before giving them a job for life". After three years, the union usually helps the teachers so much that no matter what they do they will not get fired. I think that somehow teachers should be evaluated through their performance besides the test scores. Students will try to get teachers fired if they do not like them. Some teachers are a very good teacher but sometimes the students will not like them for their personalities and not the way they teach. The test scores would be a bad idea in terms of teachers. I think there could be video cameras in the classrooms and so the teachers would not be able to go off track and always have a lesson prepared. Race to the Top is a program that can help the students test scores as well as the teachers evaluations. I think this plan should go through because it can help the country as a whole and we can get our education system to become better. "Race To The Top, however, places more emphasis on the standardized test scores while correspondingly giving less consideration to the whole student. It is important to remember what the word student really means here." (Riggs 2010)

"No (Tenured) Teacher Left Behind - WSJ.com." Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .

"Race to where? - Times-Standard Online." Home - Times-Standard Online. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .

brittney said...

Yes, I do believe that teachers should be evaluated more often. What happened to Central Falls High School is just one example of what can happen to any school. I know that I have had teachers that need to be evaluated way more often then what they normally do. And I don't think students should take tests for the teachers evaluation. I believe that the teachers should be tested for their own evaluation. They are the ones that teach that subject/class and they need to know everything about the subject/class.


"Central Falls High School has been classified by the state Department of Education as a chronically underperforming school for seven years. The most recent information on the school:

808 -- Number of students

74 -- Number of teachers

96% -- Students in poverty

47.7% -- Graduation rate

55% -- Proficient in reading

7% -- Proficient in math"

-This shows me that either the teachers don't know how to teach or the students just don't understand the material that is being taught in class. 7% of Central Falls HS is proficient in math which means 93% are either average or below average. The other thing that caught my eye was that 47.7% of the school graduates. How is this even possible? Its really sad that most of the kids at that school aren't graduating. So yes I do believe its the teachers fault but you cant put all the blame on them. Its also the principals fault for letting this continue. Also, the kids at the school are to blame too."

-Brittney Isley

Katie T. said...

I do think teachers should be evaluated more often than they are now. If teachers were evaluated more frequently I think that they would become more motivated to teach correctly. If someone came in to observe teachers skills more often, once every three months and not notified, maybe the teacher would be notified on certain aspects they can approve on. I think it would be a great idea if students had the opportunity to evaluate their teachers. The students are the only ones who actually observe the teacher daily and know how their teaching skills are. Sometimes when a child is not doing so well it isn’t entirely their fault all the time. The teacher may simply not be good at their job, and no one would know. Also, I think standardized tests are a way to see if the teacher is up to par on their teaching. But I do not think students grades should be focused upon those tests. "Standardized multiple choice test scores may have a place in measuring student achievement when they are part of a measurement system that includes such other elements as observations of student work, student portfolios, student conferences and teacher-designed classroom assessments, to cite a few; but they are generally more effective at measuring a student's socioeconomic and linguistic advantages and disadvantages rather than actual learning"

"Race to where? - Times-Standard Online." Home - Times-Standard Online. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .

Kaitlyn Timmermans
Period 4

***Chivista*** said...

I belive that teacher should be evaluted mere frequenlly. So, the teachers have the rite material to teech their students. At the hight school of Rhode Island , the half of the students are graduate and the other half are not. Seven percent on math the students are proficient. That is a great example why teaches have to be evaluete more frequenlly. I belive that they have to make the teaches do test, like they make us take test , at the end , middle of the year. So, the principal the school see how the teachers are doing too. But I also belive that the student have to have a little of falt on why their school are faring all the teachers. But a good example so the students like their class they have to be like Mr. Pelo, his class is a lot of fun, but the most important you lear a lot on what is going around you.

- Miller, Maureen. “Evening Buzz: Fire Teachers for Failing School.” CNN.com, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. .
- Leo cabanas per.4

fmarvi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
fmarvi said...

Teachers play a huge role in a student’s education and therefore it is vital that teachers are well educated, motivated, and enthusiastic about teaching. Many teachers have an apathetic attitude towards teaching and the students are ones that have to suffer. Teachers should have more accountability and be frequently evaluated in order to assure that students receive a quality education. An example of this occurred in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where all the staff was fired due to extremely slow test scores and graduating rate. The union refused to putting more hours by teachers towards helping and tutoring students without a pay raise (Brown et al 2010). I believe this could have been avoided if the teachers there were frequently evaluated. It would have been easier to separate well-performing teachers with underperforming ones and the drastic measure of firing the entire staff would not have been necessary. Additionally, I believe that student test scores and grades should be linked to teacher evaluations. For example, my math teacher for Algebra II Honors was incompetent and did not put much effort into helping her students. As the year progressed, I never received a grade higher than C on my tests and barely managed with a B- by the end of semester. However, I changed my teachers the next semester and I did drastically well. I received A’s on all my tests, except once where I received a B+. Of course, not all students are equally motivated, so a student’s history should be accounted for when judging the teacher, but if a teacher is doing their job and teaching the material properly and thoroughly, they should not have to worry about being evaluated based on test scores and grades.


Sardelli, Melissa, Nancy Krause, and Jeremy Brown. "88 Teachers to Recieve Pink
Slips." WPRI.com: Eyewitness News. WPRI, 23 Feb. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
.

fmarvi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
fmarvi said...

*For some reason, the URL in the work cited does not get posted with the rest of the work cited, even though I've tried reposting several times.*

Fatima Marvi
Period 4

xX*KR3W*Xx said...

teachers should be thoroughly interviewed so we can know that they are going to help out the school and students. Central falls high school is the school that needs to have all the right teachers. 7% of students are proficient in math and central falls only graduates half of there students. Most students live in poverty.(miller 2010) I think that the teachers should be evaluated more often to see if they are continuing on there teachings and helping the students. both sides are really to blame because they both have lack of learning and maybe even teaching. There is so much things that are going wrong and the way to fix it is by fixing everything one thing at a time.

- Miller, Maureen. “Evening Buzz: Fire Teachers for Failing School.” CNN.com, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. .

xX*KR3W*Xx said...

-Gustavo Sanchez
period 2

Anonymous said...

"i will explain Monday why this was given 1.11 am sorry." I think the education reforms and the spending the money on making them is very dumb. We should not worry about money in the first place for education. Education shouldn't be slacked off with money crises, it should be given everything to succeed the piers. Teacher's should be evaluated on days they don't know when they are getting it. I don't think test scores should be something base of teachers because some students choose not pass, or do there work.
Nabeel Haffar

a said...

Education defiantly starts at home from parents but students spend most of their time at school so teachers have the primary impact on student’s education. In terms of education reform, I think that teachers should be evaluated more frequently than they are now. If they are evaluated more frequently then this assures the state and school that the teacher is doing their job right. It angers me greatly when teachers are chosen by seniority over skill in regards to being pink slipped. I feel like just because the teachers who don’t get pink slipped because they have been there for longer get it easy, and they know they won’t get fired so they get lazy and don’t do their job right. I think teachers who get pink slipped should be based of their skill and how well they teach. For example, just because a teacher has been teaching for 8 years, doesn’t make them any better than another teacher who has only been teaching for 3. It could be that the teacher who has been there longer knows they won’t get pink slipped so they because lazy and they are not motivated enough to teach their students. It upsets me when I go into a class and am ready to learn something but the teacher doesn’t even teach, they just make you do pointless bookwork. Also I do think that teachers have a big impact on student test scores. Teachers need to be able to do their job right, and inspire and motivate students to do well on tests and not be lazy about it. I think that if a teacher is lazy and unmotivated it defiantly rubs off to the students and make them feel the same way too. Students test scored should reflect off teachers because it shows if the teacher is doing his or her job right.

Sardelli , Melissa. "88 teachers to receive pink slips". WPRI.com. Feb 26, 2010 .

Amy On
Period 4

Anonymous said...

Im sorry this came in so late, I got a major headache yesterday and puked twice, im very sorry for this.


Education must require accountability by both parents and teachers even though teachers have a primary impact on student’s education. Now when it comes to education reform I believe that teachers should be evaluated more frequently than they are now. If they are then there is a good chance that their actually doing something correctly. It shouldn’t be a choice for teachers to abuse their seniority in order to avoid actually teaching and those who get pink slipped should instead be fired if evaluated that their skills are not up to the challenge. An example would be a teacher who has taught for 10 years who sucks just as a bad as a teacher whose been at it for 3 years. It could be that the teacher just doesn’t care anymore and simply doesn’t teach the student at all. Another upsetting notion is when they simply give you nothing but book work and hopefully improve test scores. Cause they need to do their job right and if it doesn’t show that their doing their job then they should be fired !

Sardelli , Melissa. "88 teachers to receive pink slips". WPRI.com. Feb 26, 2010 .

Brian Navarro

Period 4

EoPMaio said...

I feel that teachers should be evaluated more often, and more thoroughly. As to the part about teachers being evaluated by their students test scores, i disagree with that. Teachers should be judged by there performance as a teacher, not by how well their students perform because some studends are more willing or motivated to learn where others are not. Therefore a teachers evaluation would be scored by the luck of the draw when it comes to students. I also feel that a teacher should also be evaluated by their students. In the sense that a student should be able to comment on what teaching methods work for him/her where as others were not as effective.

Connor57 said...

I feel that teachers should be accountable to some extent, but I don't believe that they should be held accountable for those kids who show up to school once a year. Those kids should be kicked out of schoolm bc it is not fair to the teachers that those students do not show up. I also feel that we should reinstitute coporal punishment. Reinstituting coporal punishment in my opinion will stop they way kids act in school today. The disruptive classes that we know today would cease to exist. I feel bad those teachers that are good teachers but have to deal with rude, disruptive and disrespectful students. Bring back coporal punishment and lets see how it will change.