The failure of Jeb Bush, Steven Wise, John Thrasher and senate bill 736

From Scathing Purple Musings by Bob Sykes

After alllllll that, almost 97 perecnt of Florida teachers were rated effective or highly effective under SB 736. Brace for some full frontal cynicism after Jeff Solochek’s post inGradebook:

Florida’s new teacher evaluation model is far from popular, with teachers complaining loudly that counting student test scores for half their score is unfair and filled with potential for inaccuracy.

 The 2011-12 preliminary evaluation results, however, show little difference from the old evaluation system in which nearly all teachers were rated as “satisfactory.” With the new rankings, 22.2 percent of classroom teachers received a “highly effective” mark, while another 74.5 percent were deemed “effective,” according to a newly released report.

Allow me to unload my head:

* Full disclosure (its public anyhow) I was rated effective.

* This thing was never going to be fair, accurate or equitable. Some districts used Marzano and some used Danielson for their observation rubrics. I understand that lesson studies were included in some percentages. Some teachers were graded based on FCAT while others were graded based on end-of-course exams. We could brainstorm this point for hours.

* This serves as a rebuke of Michelle Rhee. SB 736 is her template.  The shameless self-promoter has been telling everyone that if kids would only have great teachers continuously they would succeed. Her system only turned up 3 in every hundred teachers who would be deemed ineffective or unsatisfactory. Pre-Rhee, testless evaluations by actual educators (something Rhee is not) turned up more than that. Think of all the taxpayer money that could have been saved.

* Rick Scott’s “it’s gonna be great” take on SB 736 turned out to be as useless a screen door on a submarine.

* Can’t wait to hear the FDOE spin on this.

* Can’t wait for Rick Scott and Jeb Bush’s hand-picked lackeys on the State Board of Education  to tweak the formula to come up with more of a bell curve to make more teachers look bad. Sort of a “raise the bar” or “increased rigor” or “FCAT cut scores” for teachers.

*Can’t wait for “Common Core Standrads will straighten this out, you see.”

* Didn’t (now thankfully retired) Senator Steve Wise say that if we didn’t pass his SB 736, kids would be irreparably damaged?

* How come neither the FDOE doesn’t have anything on its website, blog. or Twitter?

* I don’t remember seeing any teacher data from charter schools. Hmmmmmm.

* Small wonder two superintendents said that Florida’s multiple accountability systems will fail.

*This photo says it all.

*What next Bush-Rhee initiative will Florida republican legislators fall all over themselves to pass.

SB 736: F

*How do Bush, Rhee, Scott et all resolve the disconnect between “failing schools”  they want to subject to Parent Trigger and the fact that 97 percent of Florida teachers are effective or better? How can they even resolve it wt school grades? 

http://bobsidlethoughtsandmusings.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/bush-rhee-scott-sb-736-a-failure-of-unprecedented-proportions/