A look at ways to create a fair teacher evaluation system

In an article written in the Westchester Journal News by Alfred Posamentier argues the value of experience in teacher evaluation. However, experience alone cannot be the sole criteria for determining teacher effectiveness. Ultimately as we strive to maximize the effectiveness of our schools, we need to universally define the traits of a good teacher and develop ways to measure them, just as we do — often subconsciously — when we evaluate lawyers and doctors. Then we need to establish a panel of evaluators that would minimize any prejudices that could both negatively or positively affect the assessment of a teacher.