With the federal deadline just days away, Oregon plans to submit a plan for using student test scores as part of teacher evaluations. Though widely opposed by teachers nationwide, the approach is required if Oregon wants to keep its waiver from the harsh penalties of the federal No Child Left Behind program.

Although we’re not keen on the feds telling the states how to educate their children, we do think student achievement is an appropriate factor in evaluating teacher effectiveness. Oregon has taken extra time coming up with a system, attempting to solve the many challenges to doing so fairly and accurately.

The state’s plan grew out of years of work by a group that includes teachers as well as nonprofit researchers and state and local administrators. After revisions driven by two years of pilot testing, the state will meet the May 1 deadline to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Education.

Oregon plans to use a complex matrix in its evaluations, considering teachers’ methods, work with colleagues, communication with students and numerous other factors in addition to test scores. The evaluations won’t affect pay, according to The Oregonian, but likely will influence which teachers are retained.

State-level tests will be used to measure student growth in math and reading, but districts will need to devise their own tests for other subjects, giving them at the start and finish of the school year to gauge progress.

Critics have valid concerns about how the evaluations will correct for poverty levels and other factors that are out of a teacher’s control. Introduction next year of new standardized tests aligned with the Common Core standards also presents challenges. Those issues, however, are no reason to vilify the effort. Teachers, just like the rest of us, must be evaluated on the result of their work, which at its core is about student achievement.