Value-Added testing should not be used to make high stakes decisions impacting students with disabilities and teachers
CHICAGO - Today, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) released the following statement in response to the Access Living report, “Holding Educators Accountable for the Academic Growth of Students with Disabilities:”
“This report confirms our long held belief that value-added testing is inappropriate for a vast majority of students and it should not be used to make high stakes decisions impacting students and teachers.
“We agree that the use of student growth to evaluate teachers will not necessarily improve teaching of students with disabilities, and has the potential for unintended harmful consequences. Access Living proposes to extend time frames for implementation of the new teacher evaluation system for teachers of students with disabilities. This would give educators an opportunity to align instruction with the new state assessments that are still being developed and establish reasonable goals for their students based on the new assessments. The current Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) does not adequately address concerns related to students with disabilities.”
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The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools and, by extension, the students and families they serve. CTU, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, is the third largest teachers local in the country and the largest local union in Illinois. For more information visit CTU’s website at www.ctunet.com
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