American Educator
Fall 2008

 

Table of Contents

Notebook

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In Our Hands
Teachers Should Guide and Guard the Teaching Profession

Professionals have many responsibilities, not the least of which is to establish and uphold the standards of their profession. With peer assistance and review (PAR), teachers have an opportunity to do just that. By setting standards that define and describe excellent teaching, PAR also helps teachers defend their profession against those who would narrowly define a good teacher as one who raises students' test scores.

Taking the Lead
With Peer Assistance and Review, the Teaching Profession Can Be in Teachers' Hands
By Jennifer Goldstein

Peer Assistance and Review: A View from the Inside

A Teacher Wonders: Can Grading Teachers Work?
By Marc Epstein

Teacher, Mentor, Tutor, Specialist
Is Any One Educator Responsible for Student Learning?
By Linda Valli, Robert G. Croninger, and Kirk Walters

A Measured Approach
Value-Added Models Are a Promising Improvement, but No One Measure Can Evaluate Teacher Performance
By Daniel Koretz

Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us
By Daniel Koretz

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Reading Richmond
How Scientifically Based Reading Instruction Is Dramatically Increasing Achievement
By Jennifer Dubin

By focusing on research-based reading instruction, and delivering the ongoing professional development and support such instruction requires, a Virginia school district has made significant gains—especially with its disadvantaged students.

All articles available in PDF format only.