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Education director pushes 'value-added' teacher evaluations

DES MOINES — The slide shows an athlete mid-leap, body mostly horizontal to the earth, back bent over a thin yellow high-jump bar.

Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass puts a laser pointer on the photograph and asks the members of the state Board of Education what may have led to the athlete’s success in clearing the hurdle.

Coaching, one said. Training, adds another, that and determination. Perhaps it’s his shoes, suggests a third.

All are good answers, Glass responds. All of those things probably had something to do with the athlete in the picture clearing the bar.

“Now,” Glass said, “imagine another kid who wants to make that jump, but he’s in a wheelchair.”

The board falls silent.

That’s how Glass introduced the concept of value-added teacher evaluations to the Board of Education late last month.

It’s a system that has been picked up by school districts from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, and if Glass has his way, it will become part of Iowa’s system, too.

But value-added carries a ton of controversy with it.

Critics say the statistical analyses that are the backbone of the evaluations aren’t developed enough, rely too much on test scores or are unreliable if the districts have bad or missing data.

Then there’s the ranking. Value-added systems are set up so administrators can easily rank teachers based on statistical scores.

This, critics say, leads to high-stakes evaluations where a teacher who doesn’t make the grade gets a pink slip.

Value-added is touted as the next step in evaluations because it creates an achievement trajectory for each student based on the student’s past performance.

Teachers who help students exceed that trajectory receive better rankings — and higher pay — than those who help students meet their trajectory or those whose students fall below expectations.

“It’s high-stakes evaluation,” said David Whaley, associate dean of teacher education at Iowa State University, who supports value-added evaluations as long as they are used in conjunction with other measures.

“The one-moment-in-time measure is no way to measure what a student is learning,” he said.

Moment in time refers to measurements such as the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, in which students are subjected to a single battery of exams over the course of several hours.

Nadene Davidson, interim head of the department of teaching and assistant professor at the University of Northern Iowa, said teacher evaluations are moving away from who is a “highly qualified” teacher to who is “highly effective.

How Do You Find Auto Insurance Discounts for Teachers? | Car ...

Teachers are not usually highly paid, but they do enjoy discounts on various items that are not available to the general public. For example, many cell phone plans offer teacher discounts; sometimes lower prices are available to teachers for computers and other supplies and other necessities to help them with their profession.

Teachers also enjoy discounts on auto insurance. As a group, teachers are a fairly good risk, so insurers are willing to give them lower prices on premiums not only because of their insurability, but also as a way of saying “thank you” for their devotion to the education of our youth. Finding these discounts need not be a difficult task; many online sites give teachers search capabilities to find good, discounted auto insurance prices.

Some companies deal directly with teachers through teacher-based web sites. At www. teachers.com, Unitrin Insurance Company offers teachers a free rate quote through their “Teachers’ Insurance Plan.” With $8 billion in total assets, Unitrin is a nationwide company with a sound financial base, and can save teachers hundreds of dollars per year on their car insurance. Whether you are an active or retired teacher, Teachers’ Insurance Plan can offer you a competitive rate and with even more discounts for multiple cars, home ownership, and drivers’ safety courses.

Many big-name companies also offer auto insurance discounts to teachers. Farmer’s (www. farmers.com), Liberty Mutual (www.libertymutual.com), and State Farm (www.statefarm.com) are just a few of the larger companies that offer teacher discounts.

An internet search for teacher discounts for auto insurance will turn up dozens of sites to examine for low rates. Most sites offer quick, free quotes, so that you can compare the rates and coverage and see for yourself how much you can save.

The average discount for teachers is 10-15% of the regular premium rate. Younger teachers or those with less-than-perfect driving records may have higher rates than others, however. Even with the discounts, the type of vehicle you own, your age, location, and driving history all factor in to your final premium rate.

You can also check with your local school board for policies which are endorsed by your system. Many teacher credit unions and other entities offer low-cost auto insurance to their members.

As you search for a policy, keep in mind that rates vary significantly based on coverage, as well. Be sure that the “lowest price” covers you for all of the same incidents and at the same deductibles and liability levels as your current policy. A well-known trick of “low-cost” insurers is to advertise a price but to hope you will ignore the fact that you are not receiving as much coverage.

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