A story from last week’s Denver Post — that for more than 24 hours after its release had surprisingly received no reader comment, no arguments, no name-calling, no off-topic soapbox remarks, zilch, nada, nothing — previews one of the K-12 education issues upcoming in the 2010 legislative session: teacher and administrator evaluations.

Interestingly, two lawmakers on different ends of the majority Democrat education reform spectrum — Sen. Michael Johnston and Rep. Mike Merrifield — have teamed up as co-sponsors. Of course, those who have been paying attention to the Colorado education scene are well aware of the problem: 99 percent of teachers in Denver and Pueblo are rated satisfactory (PDF). While the devil will exist in the details of the actual legislation, the article hints at some of what might come down the pike:

Johnston, a former principal in the Mapleton School District, said teachers and principals would be evaluated on four levels of performance.

“We know teacher effectiveness is more nuanced than ‘satisfactory’ and ‘unsatisfactory,’ ” he said. “You have teachers who are outstanding, some who are novices and have a lot to learn. We want an evaluation that accurately assesses that. ”

The bill is being crafted in cooperation with the teachers union.

Under the proposed legislation, new teachers also would earn tenure based on three years of positive evaluations and positive impact on student achievement, Johnston said.

Since the legislation “is being crafted in cooperation with the teachers union,” I’m not very optimistic about any substantive change and don’t expect what I write to be taken much into account. (Though maybe if I wrote anonymously, it might make a difference.) Nevertheless, here goes …

If the idea Sen. Johnston stated of having to meet a truly meaningful positive performance evaluation before acquiring tenure rights, that would be a step forward. I would add that perhaps the current three-year length of the probationary period itself should be up for discussion. A few other states have probationary periods as long as four or five years.

Additionally, if equally meaningful periodic performance checks were added for veteran teachers to maintain their non-probationary status, that also would be an improvement. Because after all, as we know, in state law alone the procedures for dismissing an ineffective or “unsatisfactory” non-probationary teacher are burdensome.

Finally, I wholeheartedly agree that such performance accountability in our public schools needs to extend beyond classroom teachers. Find and apply clear and effective performance metrics with similar consequences for school-level and central administrators, as well.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming already in progress….

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