A question of values

So if the returns on this country's economic investment in public education show up in our industries, how much is a good teacher worth? NPR's Planet Money recently hosted economist Eric Hanushek who attempted to address that question in a study on the subject. Using test scores as the measuring stick, and following his own weird correlation-implies-causation train of thought, Hanushek claims that replacing, by removal or retraining, the "bottom" 5-8% of teachers with "average" teachers (as measured by student test scores) would result in a 100 trillion dollar boost to the GDP.

Without reading the study (available only by paid subscription), I can't comment on the particulars, but I can recommend Diane Ravitch's excellent, well-researched, and thorough response to studies like Hanushek's that focus on "Value-Added Analysis": The Pitfalls of Putting Economists in Charge Of Education. Her piece appears on one of my favorite education blogs, Bridging Differences, where she and Deborah Meier (another beacon of sanity and thoughtfulness) write back and forth about their different perspectives on issues in education today.

Beyond the high error rates, multiple ethical issues, questionable methodologies, and wide-reaching policy implications of "Value-Added Assessments," the bigger problem with these evaluation methods is the dangerously nebulous definition of value in education and society. Before we can evaluate teachers and schools, we must clearly articulate our values and develop appropriate ways of assessing the extent to which our education system embodies and promotes those values. This work requires us to look beyond the economic purposes of education to focus on the civic, moral, and ethical implications of our efforts and actions with regard to public education.