History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
LA Times manipulates the teacher evaluation story
- 02-10-2011
-
Blog by Anthony Cody/Education Week
Last summer, the Los Angeles Times made a splash when they published the names of 6,000 teachers along with "value added" scores they derived from the examination of test score data. This came under heavy fire from many - including me, when I found myself on a panel discussing the subject. The story took on tragic overtones when a dedicated veteran teacher, Rigoberto Ruelas, took his own life. His family reported he had been despondent since the LA Times labeled him as "less effective." In spite of serious questions about the reliability of their methods, the Times has stuck to their approach. This week, a new analysis by the National Education Policy Center in Colorado has been published that thoroughly discredits the "value added" method by which they determined which teachers were more or less effective. But the real story has become how Felch and the Los Angeles Times have responded to this challenge. (more...)
Send this
Print this
