But what should I do?

I can just hear the cry that titles this post, in a plaintive, whining tone, from the professor of education quoted in this Washington Post article on how value-added analysis is spreading across the country:

David H. Monk, dean of the College of Education at Penn State University, said that as a former inner-city teacher, he is intrigued by the method's potential but has some doubts.

The value-added model "is entirely dependent on test results and can be only as good as the tests, which can miss important outcomes," Monk said. "The model is also retrospective and reveals more about where past successes occurred than about what needs to be done."

I'm going to ignore the standardized thinking about tests and focus on just how badly the "what needs to be done" comes across.  I've heard this over and over from educators complaining about TVAAS, "It doesn't tell us what to do!"  Really.  What can you say to that?  I always wondered if these folks didn't understand how badly unprofessional this made them appear, or if they just didn't care. 

A thermometer reading doesn't tell a doctor what to do.  Neither does a blood pressure reading, blood sugar count, or any of the high-tech diagnostic tools available today.  Knowing what to do in the face of a complex, challenging situation is the hall mark of a professional.  Too bad all a professor of education can do is complain that one source of data isn't all encompassing, might not be totally error free, and doesn't include instructions on the appropriate response.

Thank goodness many professional educators have had much more productive responses.  Read the article.  Like everything from Jay Mathews, it's worth your time.