First of all, there is no research whatsoever to support the "value-added" model leaving teachers holding 100% blame for student achievement (or lack thereof). This is a blatant end-run around tenure, and the union position---it was coming anyway so we did the best we could---is irresponsible and violates the core purpose of union. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a union is supposed to empower its members, not simply instruct them which way to bend over when autocrats make demands.
I have a proposition below for anyone who believes principals, under constant pressure from Tweed, will actually limit the test-score based rating to 40%. The notion that individual teachers, like individual schools, should be destroyed based on test scores while Bloomberg accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the school system, his personal fiefdom, is outlandish and idiotic.
Someone has to stand up and speak the truth when the "reformers" make idiotic demands that benefit neither teachers, students, nor the working people the students are bound to become. It's painfully disappointing to see the union sidestep such a vital role. The "piloting" program instantly belies the UFT's much-ballyhooed notion that this system would be negotiated and that if it were not acceptable to us it would not be enacted.
For anyone who thinks this is a good idea, please email me as I can offer you a very attractive deal on the bridge pictured above.
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