Don't Rate Teachers Based on Student Test Scores

Don't Rate Teachers Based on Student Test Scores

The Issue

In mid-August 2010, the Los Angeles Times published a controversial database that ranked Los Angeles Unified School District teachers based on their students' test scores over time. Whatever the motivations, the move is emblematic of an increasing dependence on using test scores to evaluate teacher performance across the nation. This is a method that should only be -- at most -- a single facet of teacher assessment. It would be a mistake to let the series carry enough weight to negatively impact LAUSD teachers. We need to tell LAUSD what we think.

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Sara BernardPetition StarterSara Bernard is a former staff writer and multimedia producer for Edutopia magazine, a publication of the George Lucas Educational Foundation (<a href='http://www.edutopia.org'>www.edutopia.org</a>). A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and an avid traveler, she now freelances and splits her time between the San Francisco Bay Area and the rest of the world.
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This petition had 82 supporters

The Issue

In mid-August 2010, the Los Angeles Times published a controversial database that ranked Los Angeles Unified School District teachers based on their students' test scores over time. Whatever the motivations, the move is emblematic of an increasing dependence on using test scores to evaluate teacher performance across the nation. This is a method that should only be -- at most -- a single facet of teacher assessment. It would be a mistake to let the series carry enough weight to negatively impact LAUSD teachers. We need to tell LAUSD what we think.

avatar of the starter
Sara BernardPetition StarterSara Bernard is a former staff writer and multimedia producer for Edutopia magazine, a publication of the George Lucas Educational Foundation (<a href='http://www.edutopia.org'>www.edutopia.org</a>). A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and an avid traveler, she now freelances and splits her time between the San Francisco Bay Area and the rest of the world.
Media inquiries

The Decision Makers

Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines
Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines
Los Angeles Unified School District

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Petition created on October 6, 2010