Students sue Cali over "ineffective" teachers

[5.56'aholic]

Saw this article this morning and it made me want to puke. Looks like the government is back in the business of guaranteeing equal outcomes....a teacher is only effective if the student is held accountable for their work, not the other way around.


California students sue state over ineffective teachers | Fox News

STATE AND LOCAL

California students sue state over ineffective teachers

By Mary C. Tillotson
Published January 06, 2014watchdog.org



California’s laws surrounding teacher tenure, dismissal, and layoffs violate the state’s constitution — specifically, students’ right to an equal opportunity to access quality education — say nine students suing the state. The trial is set to begin Jan. 27.
If they win, the effects could ripple across the country.
“I think any time that you see a genuine reform in California, you empower reformers everywhere in the country who realize if you can actually fix something like that in California, you can fix it anywhere,” said Ed Ring, executive director of the California Public Policy Center.
Plaintiffs argue that minority and poor students are most in need of effective teachers and least likely, in California, to be taught by them.
“Research has shown that inside the school building, nothing matters more than the quality of the teachers,” said Sandi Jacobs, vice president for National Council on Teacher Quality. “An effective teacher and a highly effective teacher make a really significant difference in the trajectory of their students, and the same is true in the negative capacity for an ineffective teacher.”
Other factors, like parents’ level of education, are also correlated with student performance, but as far as factors schools can control, teacher quality matters more than any other variable, she said.

 

[drillsgt]

How do you measure "teacher quality"?

 

[paulgl26]

I grew up in Europe. My teacher had to pass an exam every 2 years
They wouldn't be able to teach without the exam

 

[TopDog]

The education system in CA for High School and below is pathetic. I was staying with a friend from the Marine Corps who was stationed in San Diego. Her son had just failed his junior year of high school in SC. They were transferred to CA. He reports for school in CA and they tell him not only does he qualify in CA to be a senior he also only has to go one semester. And to top it off, he does not even have to show up to school. They give him workbooks to TAKE HOME and fill out for his remaining credits. He only has to show up once a week to turn the workbooks in. I saw the work books. Then they give him one of these work books as a final test to graduate. This was not a GED, it was a high school diploma. It was surreal. In SC he is a dummy that cant pass junior year, in CA he is a freakin genius that they not only pass but let him graduate early. This was in the late nineties.

 

[JimboCX]

There is an extensive rubric that administrators used to measure the effectiveness of the lesson taught. The biggest issue is that teachers have very little support. Parents blame the teacher for the kids grade rather than taking an active roll in what is being taught. Kid refuse to do their work and there is no real accountability for those students. Teachers are pushed to pass kids and to give them every chance to make it up. I agree to a point. In the work world, we are given opportunities to correct mistakes but then if one cannot do their job, they are let go. I don't hold my students more accountable than I am held.

Making a teacher take a test every 2yrs is ridiculous. What does it accomplish other than that they know some general material. To teach the material is the key. You don't need to go to a lot of classes to teach them how to teach. It's a passion. I get angry with teachers who are about to retire and they become complacent but I didn't like employees in industry that did the same thing.