Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.
While I do not accept standardized testing as a valid measure of teacher performance, it baffles me when I hear teachers fighting this form of measure. They almost always counter with arguments that protect seniority, another invalid measure of performance.
One of the arguments that I have heard in favor of seniority is that it is objective. Of course, standardized testing could also be viewed as objective. Why is objectivity so important to them?
Teachers insist that their students' futures rely on getting good grades. Grades typically include subjective components. Apparently, subjectivity only matters if it can be used against them.
Because they don't like the alternatives, teachers have repeatedly fought for seniority as the sole factor in such things as layoffs and transfers. With how little seniority says about teaching ability, randomization would be just as effective.
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