All seven misconceptions from Douglas N. Harris' new book are listed below, along with Mathews' thoughtful comments. Regarding the first misconception, I strongly believe we shouldn't avoid value-added measuring simply because it's "complicated", which could be a reason to avoid tackling all sorts of problems in education. Also, the team vs. individual aspect of evaluating educators keeps coming up in discussions. My bias leans towards rewarding individual efforts, which is the hallmark of at least one successful merit pay program.
The successful incentive arrangement cited in the article rewards individual teachers based on student performance.
Misconception 1: We cannot evaluate educators based on value-added because teaching is complicated.Harris says the complex nature of teaching and learning is obvious, but value-added can bring some clarity. Student outcomes are just one factor, but an important one. My problem is that the focus on each teacher’s effect on student academic growth detracts from the team spirit that animates the best schools I know.
