Evaluating the Human Component
1 min read
The story coming out of Los Angeles is one of the more horrifying things I have seen in a while. I consider myself reasonably cynical and hardened, and I still have a hard time focusing on the full ramifications of what Mark Berndt is accused of doing to people in his school.
Yet, using value-added assessment, Mark Henry Berndt was a competent teacher.
I can't help but question the worth of any evaluation system that rates a person like that competent at educating children. People have identified the weaknesses of value-added assessment before, but it seems like leaving the human element out of any assessment of work that is primarily person to person interaction leaves out the most important piece.
My heart goes out to the people who have survived their interactions with this man. May their healing be constant and ongoing.
