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The documentary, Waiting for Superman, has put the the failure of our educational system under a scorching spotlight and ignited a debate between those who defend the status quo (largely the teachers union) and those (parents and taxpayers) who are frustrated with the desultory return on their tax dollar. Adding fuel to the fire, The Los Angeles Times published evaluations of 6,000 city school teachers. These evaluations were based on how well each teacher’s students performed on standardized tests. Included in the evaluation was a “value added” analysis that factors in where students started at the beginning of the school year and tracks their progress in subsequent years. Within hours of being posted on the Times website, over 200,000 had viewed the database. Not surprisingly, the teachers union objected to the publication of this database saying it was unreliable measure of a teacher’s effectiveness. No one is arguing that this should be the sole criterion for gauging a teacher’s effectiveness but it should be one of the criteria.
Los Angeles spends $30,000 per pupil . Education accounts for 40% of the state budget. However, the graduation rate is a dismal 40%. Are our high schools “factories for failure” as one principal in Waiting for Superman claims? Consider that almost 60% of Los Angeles high school students did NOT graduate yet only 2% of LA Unified teachers are denied tenure. Doesn’t this discrepancy astound you? Sixty out of 100 students don’t graduate but only two out of 100 teachers are dismissed. Something is wrong with this ratio. I applaud The LA Times for publishing this database. Other city papers will follow suit and meaningful education reform will ensue.
[Image from blogs.babble.com]