When members of the Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education convene Wednesday morning’s hearing on teacher and principal evaluations, a representative from the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) will be among the featured speakers.¶
The committee, made up of eight lawmakers and two appointees from Governor Bill Lee, will make recommendations for the General Assembly to consider next year.¶
The state’s largest teacher’s union made the position it plans to provide on evaluations clear in a post on its website, by doubling down on support for proposed legislation from earlier this year it called “Freedom to Teach,” that would have removed the annual evaluations for roughly 95 percent of public school teachers.¶
“We are glad a committee is meeting right now to discuss teacher compensation, how to recognize good teaching and the proper use of testing. TEA supported the Freedom to Teach initiative during the last legislative session and looks forward to the committee producing its report and any recommendations it contains,” said TEA President Tanya T. Coats.¶
Evaluations Popular with Conservative Voters¶
Lawmakers authorized the current Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) evaluations in 2011. It requires annual evaluations of teachers based on student growth, student achievement, and classroom observation. Under TEAM, 25 percent of the evaluation score comes from achievement, 35 percent comes from growth, and 40 percent comes from observation.¶
Recent polling of Republican voters found strong support for evaluations, with 91 percent of those surveyed expressing support for holding teachers accountable for the success of their students.¶
