Maggie's Farm

They grade students. Why not grade teachers?

This is why not.

Count the number of ambiguous if, but, maybe, kinda-sorta statements and you'll get the idea that Value Added Modeling cannot account for subjective factors in education. If you don't want to wade through the whole thing (and it is a little difficult in places), just look at the chapter/sub-chapter headings to get an idea. It is a modeling nightmare that has not improved in the 7 years since that report was written.

I'm not against evaluating teachers on an objective basis. The problem is the nature of the objective measurement. Standard testing? Yeah - in general that works sometimes as a good method, but that is also a variable from one year to the next. The only true method of evaluating teacher effectiveness is after the fact - meaning how well the student applies what the student has learned. And that can be demonstrated years later. Passing a test only demonstrates that one can pass a test - it does not mean that the learning is effective and can be applied to life and further learning.

I look at it this way. If we are going to require holding one profession to a Value Added Model, shouldn't we hold other professions to the same? Doctors, surgeons, attorneys for starters. Wanna make a bet that the various "professional associations" (read as Unions only more polite) would be hollering bloody murder if a similar proposal was made?