Who's "Gooder"

First let me preface my remarks by saying I am pro-teacher!  I always have been and I hope I always will be! Everyone has peet peeves and one of mine (actually 3-4) is grammar, punctuation and vocabulary (spelling)!  As recently as this week-end, I explained to our local TV station that dead people rest in a cemetery..not a cemetary! Secondly, let me reiterate that I detest..tests!  This morning's Post Standard had an interesting article titled: Sticking Point: Which student tests to use in evaluating teachers..WTH.( the WTH part is mine.)  I have always been a proponent of skilled teachers being able to evaluate their students better than any standardized test...Now, they want to evaluate teachers by those same student tests.. I must upgrade to WTF!
Let me explain a bit of this new, NYS brainstorm. "Teachers will soon be rated annually as either ineffective, developing, effective or highly effective."  Remember back to my peet peeve(s).  I am sharing only the parts of each level correlated to my peeves.
Unsatisfactory (Ineffective):  Teacher's spoken or written language contains errors of grammar or syntax. Vocabulary is inappropriate, vague or used incorrectly, leaving students confused.  No argument here..totally unsatisfactory..Good-bye..you'd better not have tenure!
Developing or Basic (Developing): Teacher's spoken language is correct, but vocabulary is limited or not fully appropriate to students' ages or backgrounds. Not sure I want a basic teacher educating anyone.
Proficient (effective):  Teacher's spoken and written language is clear and correct.   Vocabulary is appropriate to the students' ages and interests.  Now we're talking!
Distinguished (Highly effective): Teachers spoken and written language is expressive. The teacher finds opportunities to extend students' vocabularies! This should be every single teacher in our systems.
(These standards were developed by national education expert Charlotte Danielson..)

Let me simplify it for you Charlotte!  If there needs to be evaluations, they should be given to all educators and tenure should be eliminated.  Why bother to evaluate a teacher you can't get rid of? ( I know, I ended a sentence in a preposition.) Next, there only needs to be two categories.. You're getting the job done or you suck!  There's really no developing or "OK" on our kid's time!!

Alrighty, here's the bottom line. The Governor (who I've really had no major issues with to date) is considering linking, or will link, an increase in state aid to school districts' adoption of a new teacher evaluation systems.  The NY Daily News is reporting that Cuomo is "seriously considering" doing that.  The Post was more "definitive" saying that Cuomo will include that language in today's budget proposals.

"Good" test results = $. Equations suck...I say good teachers produce good students and $ should be equitable and non stipulative. Retain good teachers without tenure options, pay them as well as the district can maintain without biting off the hands that feed you and you will get the best education available for our students! All this testing is testing my common sense (cents)!!!!