Tennessee teachers push back on evaluation process

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When Tennessee was competing for a half-billion dollars in federal education money, teachers agreed to allow the state to ramp up its use of student test scores for evaluating educators.

But since winning the $500 million Race to the Top competition in 2010, teachers say the state has gone too far in using student test scores to assess their performance.

Teachers say that isn't what they signed up for when the state was competing for the prestigious and lucrative Race to the Top grant. They are now calling for legislation to place a moratorium on the use of so-called TVAAS scores until a special committee can review them. Teachers also want legislation that prohibits the scores from being tied to teacher licensing.

The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, or TVAAS, was adopted by state lawmakers in 1992. It wasn't intended to grade teachers but to help school directors gauge student progress, according to Jim Wrye, chief lobbyist for the Tennessee Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.

full: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/tennessee-teachers-push-back-evaluation-process