What’s next for the much-discussed teacher evaluation deal that was ratified by classroom teachers earlier this month? The agreement is being complimented by some groups and criticized by others.
The issue of how much weight LAUSD will propose giving student test scores — left unspecified in the agreement — is emerging as a major concern within the leadership of the teachers union.
The leadership of UTLA, which has previously focused on praising the tentative teachers evaluation agreement, is now readying itself for another negotiating battle centered around the implementation of the agreement. Honing in on the crucial but as-of-yet undetermined percentage that test scores will weigh in teachers’ evaluations, the union argues in its most recent newsletter that “The implementation of a specific percentage must be bargained” and claims that it will take legal action if LAUSD exceeds the agreement.
Teachers for a New Unionism (TNU), a group connected to the insurgent teachers of NewTLA, has high praise for the agreement, referring to it as a “giant leap” and specifically noting the importance of the use of teacher evaluations will now include test scores. In a recent post on its website, TNU said, “The work is not over, however. Still left to negotiate are the use of other essential measures such as classroom observations and stakeholder feedback.” The group makes no mention of the percentage scores might play in evaluations, and expresses no concern about the issue.
In last night’s candidate forum, District 4 challenger Kate Anderson described elements of the teacher evaluation deal (such as the use of schoolwide test scores) as “too mushy.”
Previous posts: Implementing the Teacher Evaluation Deal, Insurgents Aim for Union Takeover, Union Head Praises Insurgent Group
*An earlier version of this post said that TNU was formerly known as NewTLA. The post has been corrected to show that TNU and NewTLA are associated, but are not the same organization.