Teachers
Photo by Jennifer S. Altman/ The New York Times
Evaluations
There was a controversy as to whether teacher evaluations should be made public. The argument for it was so that parents would be more informed as to how their children were being educated. The evaluations were linked to the student test scores. On the contrary, teachers’ unions fought against the release of data because they worry the data could be misused or misunderstood. Moreover, bad evaluations could shame teachers instead of helping them improve. However, the controversy ended with the evaluations being released to the public because the public interest in the information overrode concerns about its validity (Banchero).
Furthermore, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) has released a detailed 47-page document addressing improvements to rules in classroom, leadership positions for teachers and most importantly re-evaluating how teacher evaluations are done. The document includes an in-depth description of various ways a teacher will be observed in order to have a final, thorough, and complete evaluation of a teacher. One of the new methods UFT has decided to enforce was that no more than three observers are present in a classroom during a teacher observation. In order to have a fair evaluation, the three observers consist of two school-based observers and one evaluator (decided by the NYC Commissioner). Moreover, the use of student surveys for evaluative purposes is still uncertain and is still a decision the DOE and UFT need to make together.
Certification
Teachers in high-poverty urban areas in New York City are more likely to be uncertified or alternatively certified. However, a study by Education Next finds that there is little difference in student achievement between those taught by traditionally certified teachers and those who entered without certification. This study mentions that the shift should be away from the “qualifications” of a teacher, but rather to the effectiveness of a teacher in their initial years (Sawchuk).
The NYC Department of Education allows many pathways to NYS teacher certification. NYS teachers can be certified through a NYS approved teacher preparation program, individual evaluation of documents, interstate reciprocity and national board certification (NYC DOE). If one is certified in another state, in order to teach in NYC, there are specific workshops and tests that need to completed. However, teacher certification exams have been challenged as the tests seem to lack reliability or validity. In an article called “New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification,” Alan Singer highlights how the United University Professions (UUP) and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) believe that Pearson teacher certification tests are bias and unfair. This exam is stated to have failed to “accurately measure the minimum knowledge about the liberal arts and sciences that teachers need to be competent” (Taylor). Moreover, the tests were challenged in the courts to be discriminatory as Black and Latino candidates seem to have significantly lower passing rates than Whites. However, Judge Kimba M. Wood ruled that the exam itself cannot be declared to be discriminatory just because racial minorities scored lower on the exam (Harris).
Teacher certification exams have been very controversial; the UUP and NYSUT state that some present unfair obstacles to student teachers. One such obstacle is the price of the exams. Student teachers are required to pay about $1,000 for their certification exams (Singer). Not as a direct resolution to this obstacle, but, recently, the NYS Board of Regents have decided to remove the literacy exam (ALST) required for prospective teachers. However, such a decision has caused much controversy. Some parents argue that if a teacher is not required to pass ALST, it lowers the bar for prospective teachers and allows for teachers to be illiterate and ineffective. In counterargument, Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa states that critics of this change fail to realize the complete story; Rosa says, “the only thing they know is they hear the word ‘literacy’ and they don’t realize these people are going through a bachelor’s degree, English classes, and writing classes” (Salama). Thus, stating that removing the ALST exam is not as extreme as opponents of this change think it to be. Removing the ALST “eliminates costly and unnecessary testing requirements” from the many requirements for applicants already have.
Salary
Below is a link of how teachers’ salary schedules looked in the past, present and what it may look it may look like in the future posted by the United Federation of Teachers. Looking forward to 2018, the United Federation of Teachers have fought for a pay increase and have been successful as the minimum salary for first-year New York City teachers will increase from $45,530 to $54,411. The purpose of salary reform, especially toward newer teachers is to “attract new talent and reward excellence” as New York City Schools past Chancellor Joel I. Klein says. There seems to be a shift in focus as to what the school system desires from teachers. Instead of longevity, seniority, and high education level, the school system wants effectiveness because there is no direct correlation between advanced degrees in education, by themselves, and teaching effectiveness (Sawchuk). Hence, why should someone of higher education level simply be rewarded for his or her degree instead of analyzing how effective he or she is in the classroom?
Works Cited
Banchero, Stephanie. “Teacher Ratings Aired in New York.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 25 Feb. 2012. Web. 1 May 2017.
Decker, Geoff. “UFT Releases Details about Proposed Changes to Teacher Evals, Absent Teacher Reserve.” Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat, 12 Apr. 2016. Web. 16 April 2017.
Harris, Elizabeth A. “Judge Rules Second Version of New York Teachers’ Exam Is Also Racially Biased.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 June 2015. Web. 20 April 2017.
NYC DOE. “Certification.” Pathways to Teaching. NYC DOE, 2017. Web. 12 May 2017.
Salama, Mona. “New York State Kills Literacy Test for Teachers: Minority Kids Hardest Hit.” Breitbart. Breitbart, 17 Mar. 2017. Web. 11 May 2017.
Sawchuk, Stephen. “School Leaders Target Salary Reform Toward Newer Teachers.” Education Week. Education Week, 05 May 2016. Web. 10 May 2017.
Singer, Alan. “New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification Exams.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 May 2015. Web. 16 May 2017.
Taylor, Kate. “Questions of Bias Are Raised About a Teachers’ Exam in New York.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 May 2017.
UFT. “Salary.” Salary for NYC DOE Employees | United Federation of Teachers. UFT, 2017. Web. 16 May 2017.
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