Shaming Teachers into Excellence?

Bill Gates writes an op-ed column today in the NY Times (here) which responds to the recent Supreme Court ruling that paves the way for the publication of teacher ranking lists.

Among many other sensible things, he says:

At Microsoft, we created a rigorous personnel system, but we would never have thought about using employee evaluations to embarrass people, much less publish them in a newspaper. A good personnel system encourages employees and managers to work together to set clear, achievable goals. Annual reviews are a diagnostic tool to help employees reflect on their performance, get honest feedback and create a plan for improvement. Many other businesses and public sector employers embrace this approach, and that’s where the focus should be in education: school leaders and teachers working together to get better.