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Ed Notes Exclusive:
Gotham Schools had these bullets today -
- Hundreds of teachers have reported errors on their data reports. (GothamSchools, Daily 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.
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.
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:
Suransky, the Deputy Chancellor for Performance and Accountability, was a guest speaker at last night's D24 CEC meeting. (He, at least, is a former NYC public school teacher, AP, and Principal, unlike many of Klein's top advisors...)Leonie kicks Shael's ass:
He discussed School Progress Reports and the growth percentile analysis. This is a statistical analysis that looks at students at comparable schools to see how much they improved and then grades your school based on your students improved performance versus your peer schools ("value-added"). For the Teacher Data reports, more individualized student criteria are considered (27 factors according to Suransky). Special Ed students are now being weighted differently to give schools extra credit: Self-contained +.25; CTT +.15 and SETTs +.10.
Suransky was questioned extensively about the release of the city's teacher ratings. (FYI he said the FOIL was received in August following the articles about California teacher ratings being FOILed and released.) 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 (unbelieveable!). 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."
Marge Kolb
D24 Parent
Sep 16, 2010
But the bludgeoning they took from Leonie Haimson at NY Law School where she appeared with the DOE's Chief Accountability Officer Shael Suransky almost made me feel sorry for them. Almost. Her amazing Powerpoint presentation was not ...
Sep 16, 2010
I wrote late last night about the New York Law School event featuring Class Size Matters' Leonie Haimson and the NYC Department of Education's Chief Accountability Officer Shael Suransky. But it was late and this piece, Leonie Haimson ...
Sep 17, 2010
Shael went on about how Finland was successful because it attracted the best students to teaching; I talked about how in Finland they give a lot of respect to teachers,and alot of autonomy. And I
Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters, at The Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) Ed Forum
Leonie lays waste to the ed deformers with this powerpoint presentation.http://vimeo.com/15989872
Good time for alpha-males to rise to the occasion!
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