ERPSECTIVE - The LAUSD is ready to test a new teacher evaluation process.
Nothing wrong with that.
But the proposed Teacher Growth & Development Cycle may do more to keep principals and administrators busy rather than providing a sound basis for evaluating teachers. It replaces a 3-page evaluation form with one that is 30 pages.
As one who has written many evaluations and been on the receiving end of quite a few, I can safely say that if you go beyond 5 or 6 pages, the law of diminishing returns sets in. There is no job in the world that requires more than a half-dozen pages of intelligent questions and analysis to get to the bottom of an employee’s performance.
The LAUSD employs approximately 33,000 teachers in 771 schools. At 30 pages per teacher, that’s 990,000 pages to be completed or reviewed by 771 principals, or 1,284 per principal. No doubt, some of the work will be delegated to staff, or at least I hope so.
In any event, by page 15, there is a good chance that the evaluator will be inclined to rush through the remaining pages so they can finish it and get on to the next one, not exactly conducive to a meaningful and fair assessment.
I am sure there are some good questions sprinkled throughout the evaluation, but there are bound to be overlapping ones as well, not to mention some that split hairs.
Unfortunately, the link in the Daily News article covering the Teacher Growth & Development Cycle does not take you to the details, only a synopsis. The LAUSD website does not appear to offer any information.
The synopsis hints that the process deals with technique rather than results. That’s disturbing, but it would not surprise me; the LAUSD has a history of being more concerned with form over substance.
It would be nice to give it a public airing since the cost of administering the voluminous program could be high.
(Paul Hatfield is a CPA and serves as Treasurer for the Neighborhood Council Valley Village. He blogs at Village to Village, contributes to CityWatch and can be reached at: [email protected]) –cw
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 61
Pub: July 31, 2012
