Deciding on a New Teacher Evaluation Instrument

There is an old saying that you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Sometime in the next few weeks, New Jersey’s school boards will be asked to approve – in consultation with their superintendent – a new teacher evaluation instrument, as required by the TEACH NJ law that was passed last summer.

In choosing an evaluation tool, board members will have a direct influence on the level of instruction in their district. If done well, measuring performance can lead to improving it. There is no more important item on your board’s agenda.

Let me assure you that I’ve seen first-hand how changing a teacher evaluation instrument can help impact student achievement.    (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

I was driving to work one day listening to a radio show game called The Nearly Impossible Question.  The question: 60 percent of men think having this makes them more attractive to women.  What is it?

As I drove, I could tell I was thinking like many of the callers, who guessed attributes like a good smile, a nice head of hair, money, nice clothes, or good biceps. Yet none of these was the correct answer. Finally, a caller got it right and I nearly drove off the road when I heard the answer – it was love handles!

When I heard this, I thought of two things. First, there is a big difference between females and males on weight gain. Second, and I don’t want to be too critical of my fellow men, but while we all put on a few pounds and we don’t necessarily need to be ashamed of this, thinking that putting on weight makes us more attractive is really almost delusional.

While many of us like to ignore our weight gain, if we want to lose weight we have to face the truth.

Over the next year, school districts will also have to face the truth on the new teacher evaluation models.  I have been to several meetings on the tenure reform law as well as the teacher evaluation models, and the hard truth is that while these changes seem very worthwhile, they will come at a cost in both time and money. It is also probably the case that any additional funding that districts may receive will not cover that cost.

If these changes are as beneficial as the pilot districts and the New Jersey Department of Education have indicated, then these proposals must become a high priority. (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

It was time for my kids to leave for their first day of school, and when I got to the front door, I stopped dead in my tracks.  Ever since my children started kindergarten, I have been driving them to school and dropping them off on my way to work. But this year my daughter is the proud possessor of a driver’s license and has the use of my old car.  I watched while she and her brother got in the car and drove to the high school by themselves.  I hadn’t thought about it much.  This summer seemed like every other summer (with me asking the kids every day if they had done their summer reading, and my son and daughter waiting until the end of the summer to do it).  Watching the kids drive off without me was a real jolt. I realized that life has changed for all of us.

I believe that the same could be said for all the school districts in New Jersey.  While we always have new wrinkles when school reopens, something was different this year.  After this summer’s enactment of the TEACH NJ law, the landmark tenure reform legislation, and the development of a new teacher evaluation process, the fabric of education for the teachers and other staff members has been altered. (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

I thought having an up-close view of a historical legislative moment would be a bit more thrilling. It is historic having a tenure reform bill pass the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee with bipartisan support. Passing any tenure reform bill is historic and although many did not like some of the compromises that were eventually struck (including NJSBA), almost all the education groups ultimately supported the measure, including the NJEA.  Yet I found myself less than enthused.

Maybe it was because the meeting started three hours late and everyone there had to endure another couple of hours of discussion on other matters before the focus shifted to S-1455 TEACHNJ, the tenure reform legislation sponsored by Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D- Essex County).  Or maybe it was because, while this passage was a major step in tenure reform, it was not the final step.

Yet even while I was feeling a bit bored, my mind was churning with questions. The Republican senators all joined in voting yes on this measure and praising Sen. Ruiz, which most observers took as a signal that Gov. Christie would support this legislation. The bill seems a shoo-in to pass the Senate but what about the Assembly?  (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

One of the amazing things about the legislative and political process in New Jersey is that everyone can agree that there’s a problem, yet nothing happens to address the issue.

There is often a great deal of discussion. There is even some action when bills are proposed. But in the end, very little happens.  You might think it would be easier to come to a consensus when there’s agreement on the problem, but that’s not always the case.

I am beginning to feel that tenure reform may be one of those issues that gets a lot of discussion, but very few results.  I have observed several legislators at events and have read enough newspaper accounts to see that both Democrats and Republicans agree that the current tenure system needs to be changed – and soon.

I even heard one Democratic legislator say that she believed that the public is also very supportive of tenure reform. I agree with that legislator’s view.  I know that on two separate occasions I had the opportunity to poll parent groups using a polling device, and in those groups, most parents opposed tenure.

So if Democrats and Republicans both agree, and the general public agrees that the system needs to be changed, than why aren’t we any closer to a change than we were a year ago?  (more…)

We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy’s side of the front is always propaganda, and what is said on our side of the front is truth and righteousness, the cause of humanity and a crusade for peace.

Walter Lippman

The first casualty when war comes is Truth

                        U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson, 1917

 One of the most important things in understanding the elements of a public policy debate is the context in which the debate is being held.  In New Jersey the public education debate is akin to a war between two superpowers, the NJEA and the Governor.  Understanding this context will help observers who are not in either camp maneuver effectively through the conflict.  Let me explain.

In New Jersey public education is being discussed like never before. Everything is on the table, including items like teacher tenure, teacher evaluations, school choice, charter schools and, of course, school funding. Many of these issues affect the work conditions of public employees, who will not easily yield ground on such matters when they do not trust in the motives of the people leading the reform movement. They believe the motive of the reformers is not educational improvement, but breaking the unions and privatizing public education.

On the other side, (more…)