Good Test Scores Can Mean Good Teachers at Work

According to your Nov. 22 editorial, the head of Iowa's largest teacher union opposes using students' scores on standardized tests to evaluate the work of teachers because such tests don't measure "creativity" and "critical thinking skills."

Many education progressives object not just to multiple-choice tests but to teaching basic knowledge in general on just such grounds.

However, common sense demands an answer to this question: How can students be creative, critical thinkers until they have knowledge upon which to base their conjecture?

As your editorial points out, there are ways to use test data in assessing teachers' work while being fair to the teachers. In fact, a value-added approach could be a particular boon to teachers who start with underachieving students and help them gain year to year. Unions do no favors for their members when they stand in the way of recognizing and rewarding such exemplary work.

- Robert Holland, senior fellow, education policy, the Heartland Institute, Chicago, Ill.