Lawmaker aims to alter evaluations

A New Mexico lawmaker wants to change the manner in which the state’s teachers are evaluated.

Sen. Howie Morales is the originator of Senate Bill 34, which officials said would practically eliminate the current evaluation process — which allows for 50 percent weighing student achievement, 25 percent for multiple measures such as teacher attendance and 25 percent observations.

Meanwhile, under the measure introduced by Morales, a body comprised of teachers, superintendents and various unions would take a look at how teachers address the individual needs of students and their growth.

“By June 1, 2017, the department (New Mexico Public Education Department) shall convene a council to develop a teacher and principal evaluation system for the department's adoption for evaluating teacher and principal performance in accordance with highly objective uniform statewide standards,” Morales wrote in the legislation’s introduction. “The council shall work from June 1, 2017 through December 31, 2021.”

American Federation of Teachers officials are on board with the potential evaluation revision.

“We have seen nationally and here in New Mexico, the trend of evaluating teachers based on student test scores is inaccurate,” American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Stephanie Ly said. “The proposed council would review all research and make a decision based upon what is the weight for each component of a good evaluation, how much for observation and how much for student surveys.”

Clovis resident Marlene Berry said she is also of the opinion test results are too heavily relied upon when assessing teacher performance.

“I know the (evaluation) system is not perfect, so I sort of take teacher evaluations with a grain of salt,” she said. “The standardized test has a lot of pull in determining how a teacher is rated and because I believe the tests themselves are stilted, that is not a true indication of how great of a job a teacher is or isn’t doing. That being said, I wouldn’t mind the proposed change in how the evaluations are conducted.”

Portales resident Gary Adams said he would be in favor of a combination of the evaluation systems.

“I would like to see some part of the state test included in the new proposal,” he said. “If the council is going to look at everything, the test can’t be ignored. I like the council concept because you have industry professionals actively involved in the process. They know what it takes to successfully reach students and help them fulfill their potential.”