More Than 200 D.C. Teachers Fired! Progress?

The Washington Post's 'DC Schools Insider' reports the following:

The District fired 206 teachers for poor performance Friday, the second year in a row it has dismissed significant numbers of educators for sub-par work in the classroom. Those fired amount to 5 percent of the 4,100 teachers in the city school system.

They were dismissed for poor scores on the evaluation system known as IMPACT, which grades teachers on five 30-minute classroom observations and their compliance with nine broad standards. These include ability to express course content clearly, teach students with differing skill levels and manage time effectively. For some teachers, half of their appraisal is contingent on whether students meet predicted growth targets on standardized tests.

The evaluation system, one of the nation’s most rigorous and closely watched, is a legacy of Michelle A. Rhee’s tenure as city schools chancellor. Rhee, who resigned in October, was succeeded by her deputy, Kaya Henderson.

Of the 206 fired, officials said 65 were rated ineffective this year and 141 were judged minimally effective for the second consecutive year. Others were let go for licensure problems or other issues.

Four teachers who were rated minimally effective two years in a row received waivers from Henderson, enabling them to continue to teach in the city, based on the recommendation of principals who said they still had potential for improvement.

Another 663 teachers (16 percent) were rated highly effective, making them eligible for performance bonuses of up to $25,000. The vast majority were rated effective.

Last year, IMPACT’s first in operation, 75 teachers were let go for poor scores.

A couple things to point out. First, the highly effective teachers got bonuses. Second, Michelle Rhee implemented this system and it is moving forward as a success, even though she was run out of town by the union. Third, firing 5% is merely a good start- based on my own observations, I think 20% of teachers deserve to be fired and another 20% put on probation. Lastly, the majority of teachers fired were all given a second chance and still could not improve their performance even knowing that it would lead to their dismissal, indicating that these teachers would likely never get it even if they taught for many years.

A lot of money goes into education and some it finds its way to teachers, so it is good to see that at least somewhere teachers are being evaluated and students are being rewarded with better teachers.