The best way to ensure that teachers are doing a good job is
through teacher accountability. Teachers
are responsible for preparing students for postsecondary education and the
workforce by making sure that students comprehend course material and learn important
skills that they will use after high school.
Just as teachers measure student progress, making them accountable in
learning new material, teachers need to be held accountable in the
effectiveness of teaching methods.
How to do
this? The consensus of late has been an
emphasis on standardized tests administered to students to measure their
understanding of concepts and material relative to their grade level. Most are done annually so that progress (or
lack thereof) can be tracked from year to year.
I am not sure this is the best method, or to what extent this is used to
measure teacher effectiveness. Exams
cannot and should not be the sole means of judging an academic program’s
success or failure, which is often the case.
That is not to say that yearly exams are not useful, but that they
should be taken into account in conjunction with other variables.
Frequent
teacher observation by school officials are important to ensure that teachers
are doing a good job and have the resources they need to help students meet
course goals. This has been demonstrated
to work well in struggling schools in Connecticut. By measuring teacher effectiveness with
direct observations, teachers who need more assistance in developing better
teaching methods can have more contact with school officials who can provide
them that assistance. Teachers who are
deemed to be effective and whose students perform well can also share their
techniques with administrators and can improve the overall system.
Another
important factor in ensuring good teaching in public schools is
communication. Not just between students
and teachers and teachers and administrators, but also between teachers and
parents. Frequent communication between
teachers and parents of students can be important to academic achievement. Keeping parents “in the loop” of school
events can help keep students on task.
Parent-student communication is also important, but that is much more
difficult to regulate.
Teacher
accountability is of prime importance to student success in the public school
system. It should be a concern for
everyone, not just parents of students or public officials. The advancement of education and excellent
quality education is a concern for society as a whole. Beyond just taxpayer concerns of
appropriation, education is a major driver of economic progress and can be the
difference between a more developed, egalitarian society and one in which day
to day subsistence is a struggle. It is
up to society to recognize the importance of education. It is up to teachers and parents to do
everything in their power to help students succeed. It is up to students to put forth their best
effort.
