What is a teacher score, and what does it tell us about an educator?

"I understand their motivation because ultimately I believe we want the same thing: good teachers for all of our children," said Jeremy Glazer, who wrote an essay, "What a Teacher Score Doesn't Tell Us", featured on WLRN.org. Blazer said his "value- added model" score, mandated by the state legislature, is 37.5. 

"I was told I’m 'highly effective' and given a $230 bonus. In case you’re wondering, that’s about half what the average teacher spends of his or her own money on school supplies per year," said Blazer. "Even though I don’t understand my 37.5, I do know a lot more about than I did last year about value-added formulas. I left the classroom and I’m currently in a doctoral program in education."

Blazer said he discovered many researchers look at this value-added method, and believe these models cannot accurately measure a teacher's performance in one year. Some teachers, he said, may get a high score one year and a low score the next. 

"But we need to recognize that achieving this requires both rewarding effective teachers to keep them in the profession and helping struggling teachers improve," he said. "A single number score accomplishes neither of these goals. My 37.5 doesn’t tell me how I can continue to grow professionally, nor does it tell me how I could help a “less effective” teacher improve. It’s simply a recipe for anxiety, anger, and shame."

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Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor