VOA慢速英语2011--How Much Should a Teacher's Job Depend o

Education Report - How Much Should a Teacher's Job Depend on Test Scores?

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Students in Washington, DC, will return to classrooms this month to begin a new school year. But at least five percent of their teachers will not return with them. Last month, the District of Columbia public schools told two hundred six teachers that they are not good enough to stay.
The school system dismissed seventy-five teachers last year. It was the first year of a new teacher rating system.
Experts say such large numbers of dismissals are rare in American schools. But in Washington the rating system is not governed by the labor¹ contract with the teachers union. So school officials have more freedom.
The system is called IMPACT. Teachers are observed in the classroom five times a year for at least thirty minutes each time. They are also judged by student test scores.
Administrators² rated sixty-five of the two hundred six teachers as "ineffective." The others lost their jobs because they were rated "minimally³ effective" for a second year.
The National Council on Teacher Quality is a research group that works to increase the number of effective teachers. Emily Cohen, a policy director there, says the council supports the IMPACT system.
EMILY COHEN: “This is an evaluation⁴ instrument that is finally able to capture who is highly effective and who is ineffective and who could be doing better and could use some assistance. Most evaluation instruments in the country do not capture teacher performance -- all teachers are rated satisfactory.”
Some Washington teachers say their ratings depend too heavily on test scores. For some teachers, half of their rating is based on how well their students do. But Emily Cohen says test scores are important.
EMILY COHEN: "Testing is probably one of the -- it’s the most objective data that we have on teacher performance. The District also is looking at other things, using master educators to evaluate teachers. So it’s not just looking at student test performance, it is using other sources of data."
Teachers with the highest rating -- "highly effective" -- can receive a performance bonus of up to twenty-five thousand dollars. In addition, they can receive a pay increase.
Almost sixty percent of the teachers who were rated "minimally effective" last year stayed in the school system and improved. School officials say these teachers received help to become better.
Michelle Rhee created the IMPACT system. She gained national attention for her aggressive reform efforts when she led the troubled school system in the nation's capital. She left last year and her deputy, Kaya Henderson, took her place.
The Washington Teachers Union says IMPACT unfairly hurts teachers who work in schools with high rates of poverty. The Washington Post reported that most of the teachers with the highest rating work in schools with lower poverty rates.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I’m Christopher Cruise.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 minimally   

最低限度地，最低程度地

参考例句：

• Food spoilage problems occur with minimally processed, concentrated frozen citrus products. 食品的变质也发生在轻微加工的、浓缩冷冻的柑橘制品中。
• So, minimally, they are responsible for such actions and omissions. 所以，至少来说，他们要对这样的行为和忽略负责。

4 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。