The evaluation of the education system will not be subject to "labor negotiations or to union pressures, and not to political parties or interest groups", stated Gilberto Guevara Niebla, a member of the Governing Board of the National Institute for Evaluation of Education (INEE), an agency that, he said, will not become a "court or guillotine" for teachers.
At a press conference in which its five members participated in order to present their four major themes of institutional action, they recognized that sectors of the teaching ranks are dissatisfied with the education reform and "there are those who are terrified" of the effects of changes to Articles 3 and 73 of the Constitution.
Sylvia Schmelkes del Valle, president of the INEE, emphasized that a teacher evaluation cannot be implemented without knowing the teacher's pedagogical practice, which involves becoming familiar with their classroom work, including what students think of their teacher and the opinion of the directors regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their teaching team. She added that
Sylvia Schmelkes del Valle, president of the INEE, emphasized that a teacher evaluation cannot be implemented without knowing the teacher's pedagogical practice, which involves becoming familiar with their classroom work, including what students think of their teacher and the opinion of the directors regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their teaching team. She added that
"when it comes to evaluations, we must think of a range of tools that allow us to evaluate teachers in a fair, comprehensive and holistic way".Thus, she also observed that in the development of a teacher profile, the teaching profession must participate, because they
"are the only ones who can define their profession."
In this regard, Eduardo Backhokk indicated that to promote a comprehensive evaluation model requires at least
"three years to develop an initial system, which would be a sensible time to have a battery of instruments with which to begin. They are probably not going to be good, pretty and cheap, but they will be mechanisms with which to begin gradual improvement."
As for the objectives to be promoted by the INEE, Margarita Zorrilla and Teresa Bracho agreed that evaluation by itself is not going to improve the quality of education, but it is necessary that their results may bring more effectiveness to the school community and be taken into account for educational transformation.
Therefore, in addition to evaluations of the educational system, its action plans will include "issuing guidelines ... for responsible federal and state authorities", since one of their tasks will be to review the "suitability and strength" of these instruments "as well as the results derived".
"From there, a proposal will be developed for allocation of functions, and for a coordination of information and technology that avoids duplication and promotes teamwork."With respect to the factors to be assessed in addition to teaching performance, Del Valle stated that it will also include the issue of becoming familiar with the conditions and the context in which teachers operate. This implies, she explained, that it is known whether or not the education authorities are offering the necessary conditions [infrastructure, educational supplies and materials] for the teacher to perform his/her work.
Guevara Niebla underscored that the INEE will maintain a philosophy of social justice and respect for cultural diversity.
"It is to put ourselves at the side of education's positive, equalizing and democratic function."
He affirmed that
"we are taking seriously the task of evaluating the teachers, and not in a superficial manner. We are going to make sure that it will be responsible, objective, and that [evaluation] does not become a tool of punishment."