BESE member slams flaws in Value Added Model This week’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education got off to a rocky start, with member Lottie Beebe sharply criticizing the state for the way the Value Added Model of teacher evaluation is being implemented. Beebe pointed out that the mathematical formula used to determine teacher scores is so complicated that no on understands it. Teachers who disagree with their Value Added score, she said, have no way to challenge the results. As superintendent of schools in St. Martin Parish, she said, “When I examine the results, I don’t know what I am looking at.” Beebe cited news reports that State Superintendent of Education John White has waived the VAM scores for some 50 teachers, and said that is proof that the system is flawed. “I want to have statisticians and mathematicians look at the formula and tell us if the instrument is valid,” she said. “I need someone to clarify the process and the formula.” Beebe said that some highly effective teachers in high-performing schools have received low VAM scores. If those teachers file suit, she said, it will be difficult to defend the system. “If I am called to court and asked what I based my decision on,” she said, “I have no legitimate response.” Beebe’s motion to create a commission to study the VAM failed. Supt. White did say that the issue could be studied by the newly reconstituted Accountability Commission. ~Louisiana Federation of Teachers E-News
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 23:54:26 +0000