Giving Compass' Take:

· The 74 reports that almost half of the teachers working at LA's lowest-performing schools haven't been evaluated in over three years, putting students at a disadvantage. Teacher evaluations are a critical component to improving quality of education and student success.

· What are some effective methods of evaluation? How do teacher evaluations impact students?

· Read about teacher evaluations in New York.

New data shows that almost half the teachers at LA Unified’s lowest-performing schools have not been evaluated for at least three years, and nearly all of those who were had received favorable ratings.

Now the school board’s vice president is calling for more regular evaluations, which he said could require negotiating changes to the city’s teachers union contract.

Teachers have been working without a contract for over a year. Early this month, United Teachers Los Angeles declared it was at an impasse with the district in its negotiations. Then the union reversed itself and said talks could resume this week.

“As a former teacher, I know evaluation is a tool for improvement, and I think it’s important that teachers as professionals are regularly evaluated to know where they’re strong and areas of growth, so the idea that we’re not evaluating our teachers is not just a disservice to the kids in our schools and their families but also to the teachers that can really benefit from understanding how to continue to improve,” Nick Melvoin, the board’s vice president, told LA School Report.

Read the full article about teacher evaluations by Esmeralda Fabián Romero at The 74