Harsh curve

If one of the 40 or so teachers who just graduated from Spring Hill College in Mobile had failed an evaluation this year, its education school could have lost its state approval.

It sounds absurd, but it's true because of a quirk in the way the Alabama Department of Education grades teacher colleges. The schools are ranked based on the performance of recent graduates who teach in Alabama public schools. Because most of Spring Hill's graduates depart for other states, the college's assessment this year was based on only six teachers. Other small teacher colleges also face evaluations based on a small graduate pool, but the head of the state's teacher evaluation program said the process should be better in years to come.

For what it's worth, the University of Alabama batted 1.000 this year and beat Auburn University.