UTLA Pres. Fletcher advises teachers to Opt Out

UTLA Pres. Fletcher

I guess the teachers union in L.A. isn't buying into Randi Weingarten's new unionism. Instead the union is urging its members not to participate in a performance review program that ties student test scores to teacher evaluations.

L.A. Times reports:

In a recorded back-to-school message sent Monday evening to 38,000 teachers and healthcare service professionals, Warren Fletcher, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, told members he "strongly advises" them to reject district efforts to find one volunteer at each school to participate in the new evaluation program.

"UTLA strongly advises against volunteering for this high-stakes program in the current scapegoating environment. LAUSD should be putting its efforts into negotiating a meaningful, research-based evaluation system rather than trying to impose a flawed program based on discredited methodology."

Well said, Pres. Fletcher.

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Darling-Hammond

Linda Darling-Hammond has been highly critical of D.O.E. plans to use test scores of graduates’ students to evaluate schools of education. In today's Answer Sheet, LD-H offers up a better, more authentic alternative.

An important part of this effort is the spread of the edTPA, a new performance assessment process that examines — through candidates’ plans, videotapes of instruction, evidence of student work and learning, and commentary — whether prospective teachers are really ready to teach. As highlighted recently in The New York Times, the assessment focuses on whether teachers can organize instruction to promote learning for all students, including new English learners and students with disabilities, and how they analyze learning outcomes to create greater student success.