The LA Times and Teacher Accountability

Since the LA Times publicly released information that "holds teachers accountable", some have written in response. Yes, this is good to get the blood boiling.

Here we go:

<|>"The UFT's Worst Nightmare: Public can see how well Los Angeles teachers teach" (Editorial from the New York Daily News 8/23/10)

<|>The Huffington Post has compiled some good links to the issue in this short summary: The Los Angeles Times examines teacher effectiveness in the Los Angeles Unified School District using a statistical analysis of students' California Standards Test scores in math and English. The first in a series of stories, it created a stir about privacy and methodology. Some of the responses to the story are here, here and here. Note: A grant from The Hechinger Report helped fund the work, though it did not participate in the analysis. (Just Schools, California Watch and Marketplace)

<|>"The Real-Life Values Behind the LA Times Value-Added Teacher Controversy" (by Susan Kaiser Greenland for the Huffington Post 8/20/10)

<|>NPR also did a piece, which you can listen to here. (8/18/10)

<|>Larry Ferlazzo has compiled a whole category on his site related to the article and surrounding story. It all begins with this post. And more are here and here as well as offering his own thoughts on Arne Duncan's role in this.

<|> Daniel Willingham has posted a YouTube video that does a pretty good job of explaining problems with merit pay and value added measurment.