Pilot study to link teacher appraisals to student results

Pilot study to link teacher appraisals to student results

The education department has asked officials from 35 districts in the state to conduct a pilot study to explore the possibility of linking teacher appraisal to student performance. Through a circular, the officials have been asked to map students’ results for the last three years for 25 teachers in their respective districts.

In 2017, the education department had proposed that primary (class I-V) and upper primary schoolteachers (class V-VIII) will be eligible for higher pay scales on completion of 12 and 24 years of service, respectively, only if their school has an A grade in the National Standards and Evaluation (Shala Siddhi) Programme. For secondary schoolteachers —class IX and X—the success rate of that grade will have to be above 80%. The department faced flak from teachers and the project did not take off.

A circular, dated August 19, issued by the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training stated: “Revised norms for deciding seniority and selection grade pay for teachers has been received in April... senior officials have suggested a pilot study to see if the scales can be linked to students’ results of the past three years... officials from each district must conduct the study for 25 teachers and submit an objective report by August 31.” The pool of 25 must include teachers from primary, secondary, upper secondary schools and teacher training institutes.

Teachers, however, have raised concerns. “Students’ results do not always reflect a teacher’s teaching or skills. Especially in government schools, the results are affected by various factors like socio-economic changes and migration,” said Anil Bornare of Shikshak Parishad, a teacher’s group.

Echoing his sentiments, Uday Nare, a teacher from Hansraj Morarji Public School, said: “Why experiment... with teachers? Will the government ever link the pay of employees from other department to the taxes collected? Instead of linking performance only to results, the government must look at other educational work done by teachers, or innovations in teaching and awards could be made parameters.”

Private schools have annual or half-yearly appraisal exercises, where teachers are mostly rated on academic performance, character building for students and workplace values and other targets set by the management. “Government teachers get higher pay under the 7th Pay Commission than several private schoolteachers. These salaries depend on teachers’ performance in classrooms and its affect on students’ learning levels. This way, we can ensure that learning levels remain the focus,” said a trustee of a private school.

Source | Times of India | 22^nd August 2019