NJ Spotlight published the following article on March 17, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
‘CALCULATOR’ HELPS NJ TEACHERS FIGURE WHETHER THEY’LL MAKE THE GRADE
JOHN MOONEY | MARCH 17, 2014
Figuring out exactly how New Jersey’s public school teachers will be rated under the state’s new evaluation system has been a little vexing, so the state Department of Education has put out an online “calculator’ for teachers to figure out how they might fare.
The new calculator goes a long way to simplifying how the various ratings – from “ineffective” to “highly effective” — will be determined for the teachers.
To be sure, the tool offers a range of interesting scenarios, depending on the teacher’s circumstances.
For teachers who will be gauged in part on state test scores, even good ratings from class observations may not save a teacher from at least a “partially effective” rating if their students haven’t shown above-average gains on the tests.