Teachers Matter

April 15, 2012

Winters (senior fellow, Manhattan Inst.) has written extensively on the effects on student achievement of educational policy issues such as test-based versus social promotion, reducing school district size, charter school funding, and school voucher programs. He has made ample use of empirical data on test scores and teacher and student demographics and has stressed the importance of utilizing these types of data to improve the public education system. Here, Winters argues that public schools should evaluate their teachers with a value-added analysis of test scores (are the teacher's students improving as they should be, according to their demographics?) in tandem with frequently obtained observational data rather than the rubber stamp "satisfactory" rating given by many administrators hoping to avoid union grievances. Once established, he suggests, the results of these evaluations should be used to determine salary increases, grant tenure, and, if necessary, choose the order in which teachers are laid off. He also advocates for reform in teacher education and alternate certification models. VERDICT Sure to spark discussion and debate, this book will be of interest to anyone concerned with public education in the United States.--Sara Holder, McGill Univ. Lib., Montreal

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