Showing posts with label Shael Suransky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shael Suransky. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Teacher Sex Data Reports to be Made Public

Banned from use by Tweed
Leibman to forge unique value-added data set.

Ed Notes Exclusive:
Gotham Schools had these bullets today -
  • Hundreds of teachers have reported errors on their data reports. (GothamSchoolsDaily News)
  • Researcher Eric Hanushek says teachers’ scores should be public even if they’re flawed. (Daily News)

These were just a few of the hundreds of recent headlines over one of the major controversies over the past few weeks - the release of teacher names and data reports. Education reform poster boy Hanushek doesn't really care if the reports are accurate - just find the nearest teacher and string him or her up.

It seems that Chancellor Joel Klein urged the press to do a Freedom of Information request and had the info in their hands before they hit the "send" button. Anyone else asking uncle Joel for info has found it was easier to get data from the Kremlin.

The scores are based on a value-added concept - measure teachers based on how their students do from one year to the next even though the value-added approach has been unproven with variations of up to 30-40%, meaning that the same students can take tests on different occasions and results will be skewed. The idea of judging a teacher's career based on a one test day snapshot strikes some people as more than a little witchcrafty. But with a witch with a shot at a Senate seat in Delaware, why not go in that direction?

More teacher data reports to come
But the story doesn't stop there. A crack investigation team at my Education Notes Online blog has discovered a new wrinkle on the story.

In the interests of the public right to know, Joel Klein and Michael Bloomberg have ordered a new round of tests to judge teacher proficiency. Starting in the 2011 school year, every NYC teacher will be required to have sex on October 15 and again on April 15 at the same time of day, the exact hour to be determined. Strict time limits will be enforced.

Their partners must fill out an extensive rating sheet, which will be computed into a number. They will be rated from Levels One to Four. They must reach at Level 3 to be considered proficient. All teacher scores will be released to the press in June 2012.

"We decided to give teachers a year to get their skills up," said a DOE spokesperson. Former DOE testing czar Jim Leibman will head up the program and will design a value added component to assure fairness. "We are looking for some improvement in performance on the April 15th test from September 15th," said the spokesperson. "Untenured teachers will be fired if there is no improvement in 3 years. Tenured teachers are another issue. We've maintained that tenure is a huge issue. We will go to the state legislature to try to try to reduce the size of this problem."

"What about inflation," we asked, thinking of the recent scandals on test scores? The response was, "Absolutely no artificial devices will be allowed. None of those blue pill thingies, for instance."

"But how can you monitor all this activity?"

"Ah, we received 100 million dollars in stimulus money from President Obama and education secretary Arne Duncan to install cameras in teachers' bedrooms. The live feeds will also be made available to the public. After all, parents have a right to know if their children's teachers are proficient."
  
The UFT announced it would bring a legal challenge for all teachers who could prove the data reports were inaccurate. But if in the legitimate case of Level Ones or Twos the teachers sex life might face reconstitution or a complete shutdown. A UFT spokesperson said, "if the statistics are not good, we can't argue that improvements are needed."
 
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D24 CEC Meeting Last Night - Depty Chan Shael Suransky

Seriously folks, below is an email from District 24 (west/central Queens) parent Marge Kolb on last night's (Oct. 26) meeting with Tweed's Shael Suransky, who some people say is a good guy. His personality seems to be able to deflect criticism from some quarters - you know, if they guy is likeable he gets some rope - look out for post-Klein likability ed deformer with ed credentials - they are the most dangerous. But you tell me after reading this - note how Marge is incredulous.
He stated that Chancellor Klein could have released the ratings at any time but is choosing to wait for the UFT legal case to be decided. I questioned him about Klein's editorial in The Post advocating for the release of the scores and he said that the editorial DIDN'T say that - it simply said the scores should be released because the law requires it [Marge comment: unbelieveable!]
Sure. Requires it. When Klein was the instigator in getting the FOIL going. The UFT actually seemed useful for a change, though the D. 24 mentioned might be Unity hack Rosemarie Parker.
Our D24 Chapter Leader then distributed copies of an October 1, 2008 letter from Chris Cerf to Randi Weingarten which stated "In the event of a FOIL request for (Teacher Data reports), we (the DOE) will work with the UFT to craft the best legal arguments available to the effect that such documents fall within an exemption from disclosure."
Wonder what Shael had to say about that. Suransky's Clintonesque parsing of words does not make him a good guy. I say qui cum canibus concumbunt cum pulicibus surgent.

I'm glad I was there to witness Leonie kick his ass at NY Law School back in September. (See links below the fold.)

Click below for Marge's complete report: