In most school districts around the country, teachers have what's called "tenure" - a level of job security based on how long they've been teaching. But Michelle Rhee, Washington, D.C.'s controversial schools chancellor, changed all that when she introduced a new way of evaluating teachers based on classroom observations and student test scores.
When Michelle Rhee began her job as D.C. schools chancellor in 2007, just 12 percent of eighth graders in the district were proficient in reading, and only 8 percent in math. Rhee's aggressive changes to the status quo got her national media attention as well as sharp criticism from many Washington, D.C. residents and teachers' unions. When she fired 15 percent of her central office staff, replaced nearly one-quarter of the city's principals and closed 23 schools, some accused her of pushing ahead without listening to the community's concerns.
Some teachers say Rhee's new system helps them stay accountable in the classroom and has helped their students learn more over the course of the year. Most recently, Rhee made headlines by firing more than 600 teachers whose scores didn't meet the requirements set out by the IMPACT evaluation system. But, reading and math proficiency among D.C. eighth graders have improved to 14 percent and 12 percent respectively, demonstrating slow but consistent growth under the new system.
That upward trend may not be enough for Rhee to keep her job, though. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who hired Rhee, is up for re-election in November and faces a fierce battle against a competitor who may choose to replace Rhee if he wins.
Quotes
"How can you possibly have a system where the vast majority of adultsare running around thinking, 'I'm doing an excellent job,' when whatwe're producing for kids is 8 percent success?" - D.C. SchoolsChancellor Michelle Rhee
"A principal at the middle school that I was working at this last yearcame up with a fictitious evaluation date, a fictitious conferencedate, and entered in fraudulent scores for me." - Ben Bergfalk, D.C.public schools teacher
"My commitment to the children of the city was, regardless of all thatnoise that might come up, I'm going to continue to forge ahead." -D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee
"So, every day, I had to make sure that my objective was clear, thatmy kids knew it, not just the days I got observed. And I think thatmade my classroom a little bit more consistent, and they learned alittle bit more this year than last year." - D.C. teacher Matt Nagy
Warm Up Questions
1. What is an evaluation?
2. How is your performance at school evaluated?
3. How are people evaluated at their jobs?
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think teachers should be able to be fired if theirevaluation scores aren't good, even if they've been teaching for along time? Why or why not?
2. What do you think is the most important factor in how much youlearn from a teacher?
3. Why do you think it's so hard to evaluate teaching? How do youthink teachers should be evaluated?
4. Do you agree with the measures Chancellor Rhee is taking? Why or why not?
Additional Resources
'Race to the Top' Aims to Overhaul the U.S. Education System
