Quality in the eye of the rater

Star Tribune Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:10:03 GMT
Education Week: State's teacher programs below par

...Still, it's the finding that Minnesota has fallen to near the bottom of the pack when it comes to teaching that was most startling. The state's low ranking comes mostly from a lack of various teaching programs and effectiveness measures that other states have. For instance, Minnesota was docked for not having a statewide program to reduce class sizes, for paying teachers less than what workers in comparable professions are paid, and for not linking student achievement to teacher evaluations. State Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, and chairwoman of the House K-12 finance division, argued that such findings show that "the chickens have come home to roost" in terms of the state's inadequate funding of education. But some educators argued that the ranking was unfair. Rob Panning-Miller, president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, said the report chooses the wrong way to measure teacher quality. Advanced degrees, experience and national board certification seem to be overlooked in favor of state-mandated tools, which can be dicey, he said. "A lot of these things are best addressed at the local level," Panning-Miller said.

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