This is important, but it won't matter...

If you have read the previous blogs, you should notice that there are practical, real concerns in developing and administering the S.L.O.s (student learning objectives) as part of the new Georgia TKES (Teacher Keys Effectiveness System).  If you haven't read them, please take a moment to do that now....  I'll wait....  Researchers have now compiled evidence that should be taken notice by those in charge (although it is too late for that).  The following statements are from a recent article released by the IES (Institute of Education Sciences); if you haven't signed up for their automatic e-mail notices, you should - it's good stuff - it's the real deal.  I have put a copy of this article in my TKES/TAPS notebook (a picture of my notebook can be seen in a previous blog).

So, from: Gill, B., English, B., Furgeson, J., & McCullough, M. (2014).  Alternative student growth measures for teacher evaluation: Profiles of early-adoption districts.  (REL 2014-016).  Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic.  Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs:

SLOs can be used for teacher evaluation in any grade or subject, but require substantial effort by teachers and principals, and ensuring consistency is challenging [emphasis added].

Use of alternative growth measures that do not depend on state assessments is recent, and little is known about their validity and reliability [emphasis added] or about how they are being used. 

I have subtly raised concerns about the reliability of our SLOs - it is assumed that the teacher will provide a substantial performance task(s) (based on the end of the year expectations) that will show student growth, but because of time limitations, lack of preparation, lack of knowledge, etc., it is conceivable that it may not have happened - it is an unknown variable.  Thus, to me, the reliability of our SLOs is in question....

I have an excellent article, but it is in my TKES/TAPS notebook at school; I'll bring it home and give you the information soon.  The researchers show that SLOs really shouldn't be used in teacher evaluations at all....  It is from the same research institute.

If you have comments or questions, let me know....  gcason123@gmail.com; online portfolio is: https://sites.google.com/site/gcason123/