By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Public school teachers in Pennsylvania are in for a bit of a wake-up call.

Until now their professional evaluations have consisted of being rated “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory,” based exclusively on classroom observation.

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That observation was probably pretty limited, since nearly 100 percent of teachers across the state were ranked satisfactory in a recent school year.

The state will roll out a far more vigorous evaluation system for teachers and school administrators beginning this fall. The process will include classroom observation, the presentation of written evidence of teachers’ efforts, and a measurement of student test scores over time, according to a report from the Associated Press.

In the first year only individual school buildings will be graded, with the scores for each building being posted for public inspection.

In 2015-16 the system will start measuring individual teacher performance with student test scores figured in. Teachers will not be judged until they have three years of data to be measured, the news report said.

“We want to make sure we are giving feedback to teachers to help them grow,” Carolyn Dumaresq, the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Deputy Secretary, was quoted as saying. “We know the most important thing to increase student achievement in the classroom is the teacher.”

While many states are adopting tougher evaluation systems for teachers, the fact that it’s happening in Pennsylvania, one of the most union-friendly states in the nation, is a very good sign.

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We’re certain that the teachers unions of Pennsylvania were perfectly content with the old system that told us that every teacher was doing great.

But the Republicans who took control of the governor’s mansion and state legislature in 2010 knew the old system was cheating students and their families. They insisted on implementing a system that gets to the truth about teacher effectiveness, instead of giving everyone an annual raise and pat on the back.

Now school administrators and parents will have records to measure a teacher’s value. That’s a big step toward recognizing outstanding educators, weeding out the worst ones and improving the overall quality of public school instruction.