As more states are moving toward education reform, the first step that a number of public schools are taking is changing how teachers are evaluated. A controversial practice, more states are choosing to base how a teacher is evaluated on standardized test scores.
Georgia is the most recent state to make this change, according to the Atlantic Journal-Constitution. After Georgia won the $400 million Race to the Top grant in August, the state education system promised to rethink its policies. Students’ standardized test scores will now account for 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation.
"We strongly believe that the most important thing in a student’s education is the quality of the teacher in the classroom," said Erin Hames, who will oversee the plan’s implementation as a deputy chief of staff for Governor-elect Nathan Deal. "The heart of education improvement in Georgia has to be focused on the classroom and classroom teachers."
According to Georgia news station WALB 10, many teachers in lower socioeconomic levels are concerned by whether or not their students will be able to significantly improve.
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