Evaluation Data Suggests Almost All Teachers Are Effective

It was reported yesterday in the New York Times that a very small percentage of teachers (somewhere around 3 per cent) are ranked as ineffective under the new teacher evaluation systems being rolled out across the country. The evaluations combine students’ high-stakes test results with classroom observations. Some education reformers have been disappointed with the results, while other people have argued that this proves that most teachers are indeed very good. Dana Goldstein comments meets this news with skepticism and provides some historical context.