The state departments are trying to create a fair, credible and rigorous evaluation tool to differentiate the performance of teachers. The belief is that students will be more engaged in learning if we recognize the strengths of great teachers and provide professional development for teachers in need of assistance. Without fully understanding the implications of the new evaluation tool, I cannot be so bold as to say that it will or won’t be effective. However, through my thirteen years of teaching experience and having piloted the new evaluation tool in PA, I will provide some insights into what I have learned.

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is hosting a Video Public Service Announcement Contest. ACTE is looking to have CTE students use their video skills to promote career and technical education.

The goal is to promote career and technical education by creating a video public service announcement (PSA) incorporating the 2012 CTE Month logo. The contest is open to secondary, postsecondary and adult CTE students in film and video production classes or in other CTE courses. Participants can enter as an individual or as a group. Winners will be announced at the Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo, November 17-19, 2011, in St. Louis. The winning student or team will receive $750. The second-place student or team will receive $250. First- and second-place videos will be publicized on the Internet and may air on television.

The postmark deadline is October 17, 2011.

As described in the third article in this series, (Teacher Evaluation Part 3: What Makes Evaluation Systems Ineffective?), the call for a new evaluation tool stemmed from the need to address the disconnect between teacher evaluations and student achievement. Teachers were receiving satisfactory evaluations as students scored less than satisfactory on state standardized tests. The goal is to bridge the gap by creating an evaluation system to better understand the effectiveness of teachers.