In a recent Op-Ed for the Wall Street Journal, Wendy Kopp attacked the New York Public School system's latest move to hold teachers accountable: publishing the value-added testing scores for their students.
For the columnist, the underlying fault for publishing the scores of teachers is that they attack one issue for reforming public schools
Some teachers have taken to posting students' scores and grades in class. Rather than motivating students to achieve more, the exposure creates a culture of bitterness and recrimination, one in which students become afraid to try different things or experiment..
The same is true for teachers. For fear that innovation may cause their students to fail, teachers will hold back on implementing new ideas. Rather than seeking help from others, teachers will hunker down even more, trying to explain away failures and low tests scores instead of seeking help. Just like with students, praise and exhortation are far more effective means for improving a person's skills and performance.
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