New York City is going to follow suit with its western counterpart, Los Angeles, and publish a ranking of its teachers. To be exact, LAUSD did not release the rankings of its teachers, the LA Times actually created it. If you read the science behind the system on the LA Times website, it pretty much says that the numbers do not mean a whole lot and there are a number of debatable assumptions and flaws.
I could not find any mention by the LA Times that the California State Test is not comparable across grade levels. Every teacher knows that scores on the CST tend to rise and dip at certain grade levels. These dips in scores are not due to teachers or schools or the state’s education system. They are due to the test itself. The CST is a post mortem for a particular subject or grade level. You can compare any given test over time, but cohort analysis is invalid.
I am not totally against rankings though. I can’t find a decent plumber I can trust to do a relatively lucrative repair job at my house. I want a ranking of plumbers so I can get the best guy. Hey, I want my dentist ranked too, and my doctor, and my hairdresser. I mean, a good education won’t mean a thing if we aren’t healthy, if we don’t have sanitary plumbing, and if we don’t look good!
NewsFlash: A New York City court sided with the teachers union and just blocked the release of the data on the grounds it is inaccurate and misleading and could compromise confidentiality. I can already hear the the anti-union pseudo-reformers complaining that unions are halting progress - never mind the justice department made the decision...
Go ahead, rank this!...and reclaim public education!
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