Test Scores determining Tenure

Time after time, the DOE never fails to surprise me. Using student's test scores to determine whether teachers should receive tenure is an outrage. This is just another example of America's reliance on test scores as a determining factor of success. It seems that the DOE simply doesn't take into account how diverse New York City students are not only on the basis of nationality but also educational needs. It fails to recognize other types of assessments that would examine more accurately the way students have progressed over a year. A test score cannot account for all the students have done through out the academic year. This is just another case of "blame the teacher" for the failure of the educational system. There is no mention of funding, programs, or individual needs as a part of student success.

I am in complete agreement that test scores cannot be the sole indicator of student achievement. The article suggests that individual portfolios would be a "much better method of evaluation". Portfolios are a good way to show how a student changes over time. However, what happens when students begin to create work for the simple task of putting it in their portfolio? It often lowers the quality of work. If portfolios are going to be used, their needs to be a system of evaluation used to determine the quality of published pieces.