By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

HARTFORD, Conn. – On Monday, as he signed a comprehensive education reform bill, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy told his audience, “We are going to have a (teacher) evaluation system that actually means something.”

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Perhaps the governor spoke too soon.

A key provision of the school reform legislation involves the July 1 implementation of a new teacher evaluation system, which is supposed to help determine who gets tenure and who gets fired. But lawmakers did not determine the final parameters of this new system before passing the law. They left that crucial task to a group of state educrats (and presumably union lobbyists).

What a catastrophic mistake.

The biggest question left unanswered is how much student standardized test scores will count in the evaluation process. Hours after Malloy signed the reform bill, officials across the street at the State Department of Education were fighting over that issue, according to CtMirror.com.

In January a decision was made to base 22.5 percent of teacher evaluations on student scores from state standardized tests. But school boards, principals and superintendents across the state want local districts to have the right to base another 22.5 percent on student scores from a different test.

“There was never any discussions that would preclude a district from using such measures,” Patrice McCarthy, general counsel for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, was quoted as saying. “Many of us thought this would be an option.”

The teachers unions strongly disagree. That’s no surprise, since unions seem to favor evaluations that completely ignore accountability. In their world, every union teacher is great, and evaluations should be designed to reflect that.

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“No more tests,” said Sharon Palmer, president of the Connecticut chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.

The legislature probably should have resolved this dilemma itself, instead of sending it across the street where it’s sure to cause an ugly and extended brawl.

In the end we’re guessing that Connecticut will end up with a toothless teacher evaluation process that will meet the expectations of the unions. That means public education will remain unrepaired, despite all the hoopla surrounding the so-called “reform” bill.