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I think this is a fascinating story: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...4.story?page=1
They also compare teachers in the same school, using their real names. Here's an interesting comparison of 2 teachers in the same hallway:
This type of analysis has never been done by the school district, even though the data has been readily available. It seems that most teachers are interested in the data so that they can see how to improve. That's commendable, and I bet most teachers would sincerely want to use that to improve.
As someone who experienced a public school with great math teachers and pathetic English and history teachers, I can understand the difference a teacher makes. It's too bad parents have no say, and it's even worse that the administrators aren't even interested in the data. Of course, the teacher's union probably won't let them, and the union in LA is actually calling for a boycott of the Times over this story. Sad.
The Times used a statistical approach known as value-added analysis, which rates teachers based on their students' progress on standardized tests from year to year. Each student's performance is compared with his or her own in past years, which largely controls for outside influences often blamed for academic failure: poverty, prior learning and other factors.
Even at Third Street Elementary in Hancock Park, one of the most well-regarded schools in the district, Karen Caruso stands out for her dedication and professional accomplishments.
A teacher since 1984, she was one of the first in the district to be certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In her spare time, she attends professional development workshops and teaches future teachers at UCLA.
She leads her school's teacher reading circle. In her purse last spring, she carried a book called "Strategies for Effective Teaching."
Third Street Principal Suzie Oh described Caruso as one of her most effective teachers. But seven years of student test scores suggest otherwise.
In the Times analysis, Caruso, who teaches third grade, ranked among the bottom 10% of elementary school teachers in boosting students' test scores. On average, her students started the year at a high level — above the 80th percentile — but by the end had sunk 11 percentile points in math and 5 points in English.
Caruso said she was surprised and disappointed by her results, adding that her students did well on periodic assessments and that parents seemed well-satisfied.
"Ms. Caruso was an amazing teacher," said Rita Gasparetti, whose daughter was in Caruso's class a few years ago. "She really worked with Clara, socially and academically."
Still, Caruso said the numbers were important and, like several other teachers interviewed, wondered why she hadn't been shown such data before by anyone in the district.
"For better or worse," she said, "testing and teacher effectiveness are going to be linked.… If my student test scores show I'm an ineffective teacher, I'd like to know what contributes to it. What do I need to do to bring my average up?"
During recent classes observed by a reporter, Caruso set clear expectations for her students but seemed reluctant to challenge them. In reviewing new vocabulary, for instance, Caruso asked her third-graders to find the sentence where the word "route" appeared in a story.
"Copy it just like it's written," she instructed the class, most of whom started the year advanced for their grade.
"Some teachers have kids use new words in their own sentences," Caruso explained. "I think that's too difficult."
She dismissed the weekly vocabulary quizzes that other teachers give as "old school."
Down the hall from Caruso, fourth-grade teacher Nancy Polacheck was grilling her students on vocabulary, urging them to think hard about what the words meant.
"Don't be a robot!" she said.
Polacheck is another teacher whom Oh identified as one of her top performers. And the Times analysis suggests that the principal is right: Polacheck's students gained 5 percentile points in math after a year in her class, and 4 points in English. That put her in the top 5% of elementary school teachers.
An animated woman with a blond ponytail flowing from the top of her head into her bespectacled eyes, Polacheck has been teaching for 38 years. The desks in her classroom are often set up like seats around a stage, with Polacheck, a self-described "drama queen," in the center.
Her teaching style is a rat-a-tat-tat of questions, the most common of which is "why?"
A teacher since 1984, she was one of the first in the district to be certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In her spare time, she attends professional development workshops and teaches future teachers at UCLA.
She leads her school's teacher reading circle. In her purse last spring, she carried a book called "Strategies for Effective Teaching."
Third Street Principal Suzie Oh described Caruso as one of her most effective teachers. But seven years of student test scores suggest otherwise.
In the Times analysis, Caruso, who teaches third grade, ranked among the bottom 10% of elementary school teachers in boosting students' test scores. On average, her students started the year at a high level — above the 80th percentile — but by the end had sunk 11 percentile points in math and 5 points in English.
Caruso said she was surprised and disappointed by her results, adding that her students did well on periodic assessments and that parents seemed well-satisfied.
"Ms. Caruso was an amazing teacher," said Rita Gasparetti, whose daughter was in Caruso's class a few years ago. "She really worked with Clara, socially and academically."
Still, Caruso said the numbers were important and, like several other teachers interviewed, wondered why she hadn't been shown such data before by anyone in the district.
"For better or worse," she said, "testing and teacher effectiveness are going to be linked.… If my student test scores show I'm an ineffective teacher, I'd like to know what contributes to it. What do I need to do to bring my average up?"
During recent classes observed by a reporter, Caruso set clear expectations for her students but seemed reluctant to challenge them. In reviewing new vocabulary, for instance, Caruso asked her third-graders to find the sentence where the word "route" appeared in a story.
"Copy it just like it's written," she instructed the class, most of whom started the year advanced for their grade.
"Some teachers have kids use new words in their own sentences," Caruso explained. "I think that's too difficult."
She dismissed the weekly vocabulary quizzes that other teachers give as "old school."
Down the hall from Caruso, fourth-grade teacher Nancy Polacheck was grilling her students on vocabulary, urging them to think hard about what the words meant.
"Don't be a robot!" she said.
Polacheck is another teacher whom Oh identified as one of her top performers. And the Times analysis suggests that the principal is right: Polacheck's students gained 5 percentile points in math after a year in her class, and 4 points in English. That put her in the top 5% of elementary school teachers.
An animated woman with a blond ponytail flowing from the top of her head into her bespectacled eyes, Polacheck has been teaching for 38 years. The desks in her classroom are often set up like seats around a stage, with Polacheck, a self-described "drama queen," in the center.
Her teaching style is a rat-a-tat-tat of questions, the most common of which is "why?"
As someone who experienced a public school with great math teachers and pathetic English and history teachers, I can understand the difference a teacher makes. It's too bad parents have no say, and it's even worse that the administrators aren't even interested in the data. Of course, the teacher's union probably won't let them, and the union in LA is actually calling for a boycott of the Times over this story. Sad.
Seems like an unprovoked potshot.
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