I imagine the board meeting went something like this: “Alright guys, so, how can we both waste time and money?” With that, what is most commonly referred to as the ‘Finger Evaluation System’ was born.

Beginning next year, a district mandate accompanying new common core standards are now being enforced by administration. The “Marzano Evaluation System” looks for 41 indicators in educators classrooms seeking evidence of successful teaching methods. Some examples of these indicators include learning goals, visual rubrics, and the finger understanding method.

Not only have evaluations become more time consuming for administrators and teachers, but the meddlesome theory also has yet to be proven effective in schools. Yet, the district board member still surrendered 164 thousand dollars to the complicated system.

The most noticeable evidence of the mandate’s infestation can be seen adorned on the walls and whiteboards of teacher’s classrooms. Although the vocabulary displayed on these signs differs from teacher to teacher, the concept is basically the same: four fingers if the lesson is second nature, three fingers displays basic understanding, two fingers shows a student is a little lost, and one finger if a student just woke up.

Now while twos’ and threes’ are the most typical, some boys and girls are more tempted to show their understanding with a one, because this allows them to use their favorite finger… and it is not the thumb.

Most controversial, these new implementations will affect a teacher’s salary based on the score they get on said evaluation due to the lobbying of SB 1040. The legislation states that 33 to 50 percent of an educator’s evaluation will be connected with standardized test results, but the Chandler district has yet to confirm.

So, what influences the 65 member-committee of teachers and former teachers to vote yes on purchasing the Marzano system during tough economic times for education when it is completely disregarded by students and teachers alike because of its childish methods?

It may be the same reason that Jack bought magic beans or an out of work Lindsay Lohan bought a mansion – the world will never know.