Brian A. Jacob was quoted in a Crain's Detroit Business article about Governor Snyder's plan to change Michigan's teacher performance evaluation system to one based on clear performance metrics.
Snyder's plan calls for a new statewide system of evaluation based on the academic improvements students make over the course of a year. Experts argue that a sweeping system of evaluation will not fix Michigan's education system. Instead, they suggest giving districts the flexibility to in selecting their own performance benchmarks.
"Whether something like this [Synder's plan] will make a difference depends entirely in the details and how it's implemented," Jacob told Crain's. "They are going to have to take into account the incoming abilities and backgrounds of each student," he said. "It will be harder for a teacher in certain districts to grow a student a full year in education over others."