Educational Technology – It’s Not About the “What”
In the 2009 animated movie “UP” by Pixar, the dogs in the movie are easily distracted by the presence of squirrels. Right in the middle of the action, while the…
Howard Pitler
Howard Pitler, Ed.D. is an author of Classroom Instruction that Works, 2nd ed., Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, and A Handbook for Classroom Instruction that Works, 2nd ed. He has worked with teachers and administrators internationally for over a decade to improve outcomes for kids. He was named a National Distinguished Principal be NAESP and is an Apple Distinguished Educator. He can be reached at hpitler@gmail.com, on Twitter at @hpitler, or on his website, www.hpitler.com.
Value-Added Assessments Treat Teachers Like Cattle
School districts are under pressure from the federal government, foundations, and states to include value-added assessment as a part of a teacher’s evaluation to meet the widely supported policy goal of identifying the most effective and the least effective teachers in a school system. On its face, the argument for value-added models (VAM) seems to make sense. How well a student does after a year with a teacher should serve as an indicator of how effective that teacher was. But by what measures? How valid are those measures? If the student measure is a score on a standardized test, what evidence do we have to indicate the standardized test accurately measures teacher effectiveness? Which students are being compared?