In at least 20 states across the country there is legislation to adopt a new teacher evaluation system. The focus of these evaluation instruments are on teacher effectiveness. These changes have implications of which may impact a teacher’s tenure, salary or future employment. How will these new evaluation systems affect teachers in a co teaching situation? Can an ineffective co-teacher have further implications for his/her partner? Can you accurately assess a teacher’s effectiveness without taking into consideration his/her co-teaching partner? I read a recent article by Jenny Anderson in the New York Times, States Try to Fix Quirks in Teacher Evaluations which addresses some of the many “quirks” with the new teacher evaluation tools being implemented across this country. Has anyone looked closely at the problem I pose here? In researching this blog post, I could not find any information on the implications of teacher evaluations within a co-teaching setting. As I am part of the committee in my own district to begin looking into a new evaluation system, it is an issue I will present to my committee. I suggest that those who are in a current co-teaching situation do the same.
