tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988323189898113183.post1839810993038010872..comments2023-12-18T01:01:57.910-08:00Comments on Modern School: Evaluation Deal is Major Defeat for NY Teachers—Harbinger for Others?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988323189898113183.post-48717425231112344222012-02-22T18:29:46.549-08:002012-02-22T18:29:46.549-08:00The Ed Deformers have been looking for culprits, y...The Ed Deformers have been looking for culprits, yes; causes, no. In fact they determinedly turn their backs on the causes of academic failure. When someone mentions causes, they cry, "No excuses."<br /><br />They never said that teachers were not trying. They simply said that competition would improve the schools. By 2014. By the time that crashed and burned, they were ready with "teacher effectiveness." Again, they never said that poor teaching was the _cause_ of academic failure--that would be manifestly incorrect, since 90% of the achievement gap is present the first day of Kindergarten. <br /><br />As long as real educators debate the ins and outs of teacher evaluations, the ed deformers will happily go rolling along. Instead, educators need to insist that the education debate focus on causes. If a policy does not address the cause of a problem, then it can't be the solution.Tomnoreply@blogger.com