Step One: No measure is perfect, but the estimates of value-added and other “growth models,” which attempt to isolate the “true effect” of an individual teacher through his or her students’ test scores, are alarmingly error-prone in any given year.
Step Two: Assessments of teachers change from year to year. A teacher with a high ranking one year may receive a lower ranking the next year.
Step Three: The scores can change between years. A teacher’s ranking one year is likely to receive a different ranking the next year. There will always be changes in these rankings, and sometimes the changes will reflect actual performance changes (Ravitch, 270-271).
Step Four: It is difficult to hold teachers accountable for their students’ success because there is no easy way to assess a teacher’s progress. This is because the current models of assessment are unreliable (Ravitch 270-271).
Step Five: It is difficult to hold teachers accountable for their students’ success because there is no easy way to assess a teacher’s progress. This is because the current models of assessment are unreliable. Diane Ravitch says, “No measure is perfect, but the estimates of value-added and other ‘growth models,’ which attempt to isolate the ‘true effect’ of an individual teacher through his or her students’ test scores, are alarmingly error-prone in any given year (Ravitch, 270-271).
Don’t forget to end the quote in step 5, and remember to include the full citation at the bottom of the exercise.