It's war: L.A. Times to publish database of individual teachers' "effectiveness ratings"

[Hannah Bell]

When I read the Los Angeles Times’ August 14th article, “Who’s teaching L.A.’s kids?” written by Jason Felch, Jason Song, and Doug Smith, I literally felt chills run up my spine. For those who don’t already know, the article represents the debut of the Times‘ value-added analysis of seven years’ worth of Data from over 6,000 LAUSD elementary school teachers. The paper plans to publish a database of individual teachers’ estimated effectiveness and articles on the subject over the next few months.

Felch, Song, and Smith go on to write that “no one suggests using value-added analysis as the sole measure of a teacher. Many experts recommend that it count for half or less of a teacher’s overall evaluation.” And yet, the Los Angeles Times has taken it upon itself to publish the names and statistics of thousands of Los Angeles teachers because the organization has decided that it “offers the closest thing available to an objective assessment of teachers.” Never mind that the quality of the tests may change from year to year, or that what is considered “proficient” may also change...

Apparently, it is now OK for a newspaper to contract with whatever “expert-for-hire” they like and paint scarlet numbers on public school teachers.

There are many things about the article that I find disturbing. For instance, Felch, Song, and Smith’s language sometimes crosses the boundary between objective, accurate reporting and editorializing. For example, they state that… "year after year, one fifth-grade class learns far more than the other down the hall. The difference has almost nothing to do with the size of the class, the students, or their parents. It’s their teachers."

http://failingschools.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/scandalize-their-names/

[LWolf]

1. I would like to see LAUSD teachers whose so-called "effectiveness ratings"

are published sue the shit out of the entity that releases them and the entity that publishes them.

I think they can successfully argue the validity of those figures.

[Angry Dragon]

2. I was thinking the same thing

+1000

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I don't think they'd have a case

It's public information.

[earthside]

11. I agree with you ...

... public employees, public information.

This, however, is a portent of things to come.

No matter what the 'official' arbitrary percentage that these "effectiveness ratings" based on student test results are given -- twenty, forty, sixty percent -- in the end, it will be these simplistic numbers that will determine whether a teacher stays hired or is fired.

The Bush-Obama-Spellings-Duncan schools policy is all about "data" and the corporatization of education; all the that matters ultimately will be some kind of "bottom-line."

I am so glad my daughter will be out of the public school system in just two more years.

[Hannah Bell]

18. the so-called "effectiveness" rating isn't public data & doesn't exist as such.

it will be constructed by a RAND analyst paid by the Times.

The data used will be student/school test scores, etc. That data is already public. The times is going to use it to ramp up the propaganda.

[Goblinmonger]

23. And how does the analyst get that data?

They would need to see the scores of each individual student. We pretty much have to sign our life away to see the test scores of the students we teach. How is this not a FERPA violation? You can't tell me they are getting each parent's OK.

[Hannah Bell]

24. i don't think so. they'd do it by the teachers' classes, not the individual students.

percent of class at passing/proficiency each year.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Don't know about CA, but here in my state test score data is reported by class

So here a newspaper can get those scores without having to look up individual student scores.

[Goblinmonger]

31. Not like that here

Scores are reported by district and building.

[DeSwiss]

41. Then ALL public officials should have their evaluations published. All. Of. Them. n/t

[LWolf]

16. If the information is based on faulty use of data, then possibly.

Not on whether or not information should be public, but on whether or not the data has been misused to arrive at a scale of "effectiveness."

[Hannah Bell]

20. the information is already public. it's student/school test scores, mainly.

The Times is paying a RAND analyst (or maybe RAND is paying the Times, who knows) to construct a propaganda "rating" of individual teachers. There is no such "public" data currently extant.

RAND has been promoting school deform for a long time.

http://www.rand.org/research_areas/education/

RAND Corporation (Research ANd Development<2>) is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government, a private endowment,<3> corporations <4> including the healthcare industry, universities<5> and private individuals..

The organization's governance structure includes a board of trustees. Current members of the board include: Paul G. Kaminski (Chairman), Karen Elliott House (Vice Chairman), Richard J. Danzig, Francis Fukuyama, Richard Gephardt, John W. Handy, Jen-Hsun Huang, John M. Keane, Lydia H. Kennard, Philip Lader, Peter Lowy, Michael Lynton, Charles N. Martin, Jr., Ronald Olson, Paul O'Neill, Michael Powell, Donald B. Rice, James E. Rohr, James F. Rothenberg, Hector Ruiz, Carlos Slim Helu, Donald Tang, James Thomson, and Robert C. Wright.

Trustees Emeriti include: Harold Brown, Frank C. Carlucci

Former members of the board include: Walter Mondale, Condoleezza Rice, Newton Minow, Brent Scowcroft, Amy Pascal, John Reed, Charles Townes, Caryl Haskins, Walter B. Wriston, Frank Stanton, Carl Bildt, Donald Rumsfeld, Harold Brown, Robert Curvin, Pedro Greer, Arthur Levitt, Lloyd Morrisett, Lovida Coleman, Ratan Tata, Marta Tienda, Jerry Speyer, Timothy Geithner, Rita Hauser, Ann Korologos, and Bonnie McElveen-Hunter.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAND_Corporation

[FreedomRain]

33. school deform

RAND has been promoting school deform for a long time.

Nice choice of phrase ;)

edit: (Oh I see you've used it again below, so it was on purpose. 1st time I heard it; I'll spread it around )

[YvonneCa]

27. Or faulty collection of data...

...because the system is presently very flawed.

[Hannah Bell]

17. The Times hired the analysis themselves. Not sure what data they're using, but the Times paid.

and it's a RAND *rightist/military-industrial) analyst.

times paid = not "public". (and i doubt the times paid in these times of low circulation -- i bet the times *got* paid to publish an extant rand analysis)

"the Times hired RAND researcher Richard Buddin to conduct a value-added analysis on LAUSD teachers. Over the next few weeks, and likely beyond that, the Times promises to publish the findings of this analysis in articles and via a full database. For thousands of LAUSD teachers, this means they should expect to see their names and scores in their morning paper. For parents and the rest of the public, it means they will have more information about public school teachers’ performance than ever before".

http://www.quickanded.com/2010/08/the-value-added-by-la-teachers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheQuickAndTheEd+(The+Quick+and+the+Ed)

[YvonneCa]

25. I think this is getting close to the point...

...of being a class-action suit. I'm no lawyer...but LAUSD's actions do unfairly affect a class of people...teachers.

[LWolf]

34. I'd like to hear what a good lawyer has to say about it. nt

[YvonneCa]

40. So would I. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I read that LA Times article yesterday and about vomited

Why does no one ever talk about principals and administrators and THEIR responsibilities? I've seen more than one bad administrator ruin what a good teacher is doing in their classroom.

[w4rma]

7. In sports the coach is fired. But under Obama, the players are all fired and the coaches kept. (nt)

[XanaDUer]

5. Why anyone would want to be a teacher anymore

is beyond me.

[Hannah Bell]

6. no problem. plenty of h1b's from the philippines available. & turks!

a chain of turkish charters is one of the biggest user of h1bs in education. all turks.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. All of this teacher-bashing seems so contrived to me.

Granted, I'm not familiar with schools in the Lower 48 since I haven't lived down there in 35 years, but from what I can remember about my education in the public school system in Ohio, Colorado and Texas, I had some good teachers, some bad ones, and an occasional, now and then, excellent one. My sense is that things probably haven't changed that much.

Parents and kids need to take some responsibility, too. It shouldn't all rest on the teachers' shoulders.

Call me old-fashioned.

[w4rma]

9. Administrators need to take some responsibility, also. (nt)

[Blue_In_AK]

14. I agree.

[Blue_In_AK]

15. I agree.

I didn't mean to agree twice.

[LiberalFighter]

36. And paid less.

[DBoon]

10. Too bad we couldn't publish a similar study about journalists

give them public "effectiveness ratings"

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. Would not make any difference

Journalism really isn't a profession as I see it. None of its members are licensed, there are no professional standards for reporters or the publishers. For every shining light there are many more dim bulbs.

[DBoon]

39. Surely we could publish luminescence ratings

and by name note which are the dim bulbs?

not that anyone would care....

[Rex]

12. As someone who taught in a public school for a few years

I just want to say my heart goes out to all the teachers out there struggling with a career they love and hate at the same time. It would be nice to see SUPPORT instead of SCORN, but we live in an age where performance evaluations will decide if a teacher is proficient or not...all without any help to the teacher by the State or Feds. All the State and Feds and it looks like the M$M want to do is slam teachers for the stupid belief they are all a part of the 'professional left'. If you ask Rick Perry, he would like to see public teachers work for minimum wage!

[YvonneCa]

30. That wage goal is...

...probably true of many states, since teachers' salaries come from state funds and many states are broke.

[amborin]

19. how can this be? isn't that from teachers' personnel file?

[Hannah Bell]

21. no, it literally doesn't exist. The Times is paying a RAND analyst to invent it.

[amborin]

22. hopefully, the union files suit to stop this

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Just posted on Facebook:

Interesting discussion there on this LA Times article.

Take notes, LA folks: Richard Buddin, senior economist at RAND, did this "research" on LA's teachers. He has garnered praise for "best research to date" on charter schools from the Charter School Achievement Consensus Panel. That group falls under the umbrella of the National Charter School Research Project which, in turn, falls under the Center on Reinventing Public Education. That center (and countless others) is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Long story short, Bill Gates is funding this attack on you. Fight back.

The LA times makes a point of saying Buddin is an independent contractor, not working for RAND corporation. But, the "research" was paid for by the Hechinger Report. The Hechinger Report is currently funded by, you guessed it, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Links:

http://hechingerreport.org/support-us/

http://hechingerreport.org/about/

[Hannah Bell]

29. smoking gun. the demon spawn of citibank strikes again.

[Hannah Bell]

32. that's worth an OP of its own: Gates Foundation funding LA Times teachers' "effectiveness ratings"

could you link the facebook page?

people should know it's not reportage & it's not a single number, but a construct by a rand analyst ultimately paid by bill gates. and that rand (military industrial complex think tank) has its own history as a promoter of school deform.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. Here:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000084984971&v=wall&story_fbid=146565978701594

[Hannah Bell]

37. i'm not a facebook member so i'm not seeing what you're seeing. are there

any cites on the claim that the gates-funded hechinger report paid for the rand analysis?

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Just the links I posted

[Starry Messenger]

42. k & r