Richard Woods says test scores should play smaller role in evaluations
Republican candidate for state school superintendent Richard Woods said the state should decrease the importance of test scores in a teacher’s evaluation.
At a state conference of school leaders Wednesday, Woods said he wants student test scores to count for 20 percent of a teacher’s evaluation rather than 50 percent, the level it’s at now. Woods said he would consider a further reduction after a review of the system.
“Parents would immediately understand the fallacy if 50 percent of their child’s final grade were to be based on test scores,” said Woods in a statement. “That same fallacy holds sure under a system where 50 percent of a teacher’s final grade is based on test scores.”
Making student test scores part of a teacher’s evaluation is a major shift for Georgia schools and is part of a nation school reform trend toward more accountability. But it’s controversial among educators who feel testing systems are too unreliable.
Woods is locked in a battle with Democratic candidate Valarie Wilson to replace current Superintendent John Barge, who lost a bid for governor. Wilson said she too supports lessening the emphasis on testing.
“My opponent and I actually agree on this, as do the majority of education professionals in the country,” she said in a statement. “What we must do … is ensure that the work we’re doing is effective.”
