State And Local Tests, Six Observations A Year + Student Surveys

Here it is:

Key features of the plan, which will remain in force through the 20162017 school year, includes:

■ 40 percent of a teacher’s grade will be based on their students’ performance,
Of that, 20 percent will be based on state exams in math and English in grades 4-8 for some teachers. They will be judged based on how much their students improve compared to similar students around the state.

■ For teachers who do not administer those exams, their student growth will be measured based on “Student Learning Objectives,” in which teachers and principals set annual goals for each student.

■ Another 20 percent of a teacher’s rating will be determined by other “school-based measures” — primarily tests — set by an eight-member school committee. The principal will select four panel members, and the UFT will pick the other four.

■ 60 percent of a teacher’s grade will come from in-class observations by principals, with at least one unannounced visit.

■ But in the 2014-15 school year, principal observations will account for 55 percent, and 5 percent will be based on student surveys. Currently, Syracuse is the only school district in New York that uses students to help evaluate teachers, though its a national trend.

Mulgrew spins it:

The commissioner’s plan is professional and fair and is designed to help teachers improve their skills throughout their careers. It offers teachers a professional voice in the measures that their supervisors will use to rate them. And despite Mayor Bloomberg’s desire for a “gotcha” system, the new system puts in place stronger due process rights to protect teachers from harassment and from principals who don’t follow the rules. Our biggest concern, given this administration’s terrible track record, is implementation.

A total and complete win for Bloomberg and the DOE.

No matter how Mulgrew and the UFT leadership try and spin it.

There is nothing remotely fair about the system.

It is meant to burn and churn the workforce.

Those who don't get "i-rated" and fired will get burnt out trying to keep from getting "i-rated" and fired.

If I were Mulgrew, I would take the state to court over the system.

But from the letter, you can tell he isn't going to do that.