Panel: Should NYC Teachers Be Evaluated By Their Students' Test Scores?

In 2009, the New York City Department of Education developed a trial “value-added” model for measuring teacher effectiveness based on student test scores. This new tool exemplifies a broader national movement to evaluate, promote, compensate, and dismiss teachers in part on the basis of their students’ test results. President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have strongly advocated for such practices.

Can standardized test scores be used as a meaningful measure of teacher quality? Should New York City teachers be evaluated based on their students’ test performance? In this presentation, NYU professor Sean Corcoran will describe the new NYC teacher data initiative, and the opportunities and challenges associated with value-added methods of assessing teacher quality. He will conclude by assessing the potential for these new teacher assessment systems to improve student outcomes in urban school systems like New York. The research presentation will be followed by comments from a panel and an open dialogue with teachers, principals, researchers, parents, advocates and policymakers.