Teachers Responsible for Students Achievment?

Suzala, can you start a new thread for this posting?

Should teachers be held solely responsible for student achievement? More specifically, should teacher pay be connected to student test scores?

Let's consider a few scenarios with three fictitious students named Pierre, Wilma and Egbert.

Pierre is a little first grade boy. Although his attendance is good, he consistently arrives with something missing. Whether it's his lunch/lunch money, pencils or homework, he never seems to come to school ready to learn. His 15 minute a day at home reading log is seldom returned on time if at all. His teacher has contacted the parent on numerous occasions to discuss the gap in Pierre's home-school connection but to no avail. The mother will agree with the teacher's concerns, promise to make a better effort but for whatever the reason (legitimate or otherwise) will rarely follow through. Despite Pierre's high potential, his progress is severly hindered by that fact that he does not read on a daily basis and has minimal, if any value placed on homework and learning in his home.

Wilma is a seventh grade student. She is a well behaved girl with average grades in all subjects except for math. She is given the opportunity to come for extra help ninth period on a daily basis but rarely shows up. When her teacher contacts her mother about arranging a mutually agreeable time to have extra help (time that goes beyond the teacher's contractual obligations), the response is that extra help will interfere with Wilma's other activities including her social life, shopping responsibilities and cosmetic appointments (manicures, haircuts, etc). Neither Wilma nor her parents have concerns over Wilma's C average in math or her low standardized test scores.

Egbert is a tenth grade student who really doesn't care about doing well in school. As his parents are going through a messy divorce right now, he gets little support from home. His homework is rarely done. He fails some classes, barely passes others. How he does on his regents exams is simply not a priority for his parents.

Now, consider that there are at least one or two Pierres, Wilmas and Egberts in any given class. Who is really responsible for the gaps in their learning?