Ravitch Addresses Charters, Teacher Evaluations

The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (11/14) presents a Q&A with former ED official Diane Ravitch, who "believes the bipartisan consensus around school reform is all wrong." Ravitch describes the evolution of her views on charter schools and standardized testing, states that instead of student test-based teacher evaluations, districts should have "supervisors who are experienced and make informed judgments" to determine whether teachers are succeeding. Ravitch takes issue with the NEA's decision to "go along with" "evaluating teachers by test scores," and suggests that the union should reconsider.