Come follow me, it's a new day (The Answer)

An article in Synapse recently mentioned Finland's teacher evaluation system

Blue sky thinking in Finland.

For a variety of reasons, the educational system in Finland is often viewed as one of the best in the world. As arguable as that claim might be, it’s easy to look at what the school system of Finland does with regard to teacher evaluation. There’s only one problem with this approach: Finland doesn’t have a centralized teacher-evaluation system. Finland’s teachers are evaluated entirely by locally-determined measures established through agreement between schools and the teachers’ union (there are also no standardized exams in Finland’s schools). This fact stands to demonstrate that...centralized teacher-ratings are not a requisite for an educational system that is viewed as a model for the World.

And with blackboards and chalk!

Hmmm - interesting. Even Ofsted in the U.K. have now recognised that evaluating teacher effectiveness by lesson observation is deeply flawed. Yes - you read that right - Ofsted!

While reading this I couldn't help thinking about my time in the U.A.E. as an advisor working in Ali bin Abi Taleb school. The company I worked for was deeply driven by statistical data gained from our regular teacher observations which ran to about thirty bullet pointed focus points.

Yikes! You do the math (or not).