Vergara Update: Chetty, Chetty Gets Banged, Banged in Teachers College Refute

Over the last decade, teacher evaluation based on value-added models (VAMs) has become central to the public debate over education policy. In this commentary, we critique and deconstruct the arguments proposed by the authors of a highly publicized study that linked teacher value-added models to students’ long-run outcomes, Chetty et al. (2014, forthcoming), in their response to the American Statistical Association statement on VAMs. We draw on recent academic literature to support our counter-arguments along main points of contention: causality of VAM estimates, transparency of VAMs, effect of non-random sorting of students on VAM estimates and sensitivity of VAMs to model specification... TC Record

How nice to see Raj Chetty, who was a witness against the teachers in the California case, taken down. Do you think someone will call for him to lose tenure due to shoddy research?

Chetty is one of those hired hand research thugs from Harvard who "proved" that teacher quality based on VAM can affect a child's lifetime earnings. Of course their (purposely) shoddy work is coming apart at the seams.

As Ravitch wrote in June:

Chetty and Friends Stand by their VAM

June 2, 2014 //

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The American Statistical Association released a brief report on value-added assessment that was devastating to its advocates. ASA said it was not taking sides, but then set out some caveats that left VAM with no credibility. Can a school district judge teacher quality by the test scores of his or her students? ASA wrote this: “VAMs are generally based on standardized test scores, and do not directly measure potential teacher contributions toward other student outcomes.

I imagine hitman lawyer for Campbell Brown, David Boies, will be smart enough not to use Chetty in the NY case. Someone even suggested Chetty, given testimony along the lines of "if only California had better tenure laws as good as NY", be called for our side. But union lawyers have often proved to be dumber than dirt, so don't expect a rigorous defense of tenure. In fact, look for them to plead that they will figure out ways to help get rid of teachers, continuing a long tradition, as Eterno points out over at ICE, where our own union has helped weaken the tenure laws (LETTER TO PROTECT TENURE FROM PEOPLE WHO WEAKENED IT).
Like, does anyone think it is only 3 years when half the people get extended, sometimes for more than one year (I recently met a guy who was in his 7th year as a teacher and only got it by getting away from the witch who was his principal.

Read the report below the break.