This Does Not Meet the Requirements

Another day, another hit on teachers’ unions for not wanting to reduce all teaching to test scores.

Thanks for that clarification on 76%. Good to know it’s more than three fourths.

#6 This is a great model for any would-be Eyman donor: Let him take out a loan to cover the costs and then if it passes and isn’t overturned in court, give money to cover the debt plus some sort of return.

The use of “environment” in the tweet thing is, of course, nothing to do with greenery, but how to turn cities into what’s called “defensible space,” in which potential crimes are deterred by eyes on the street, broken windows policy, etc. The concept’s been around a long time, but in the last several years it gained cachet as cops with Ph.D’s embraced it, which would have put a smile on Michel Foucault’s face.

The international society’s webpage (extra points for spotting Ayn Rand influences and misspellings) is http://www.cpted.net.

Talk about “reducing” Trevor. The teacher evaluation model that education reformers advocate, does not, as you quip, “reduce all teaching to test scores.” They’re advocating an evaluation system that incorporates student achievement into a range of factors to hold teachers more accountable to the public (sort of like you want with public servants like cops).

Nate Silver’s a piker. A mere 100,000 simulations of the Murray-Rossi outcome? That’s nothing.

If Fizz cared to notice local blogs, it would instead be touting Darryl at HominidViews, where the analyses of political races are methodologically more robust than Silver’s (Nate weights the polls, ummm, idiosyncratically — IOW, pulling the weights out of his ass — rather than by size and recentness). In addition, Darryl runs 1 million simulations. For the innumerate, that’s 10 times as many as Nate Silver does.

In his recent examination of Murray-Rossi after the two post-primary polls (Rasmussen and KING5-SurveyUSA), Darryl estimates that Murray has just under a 40% likelihood of winning. But… Noting the obvious problems in SUSA’s crosstabs (and not just in their latest garbage), he then adds the last two pre-primary polls — Rasmussen (again) and PPP (which nailed the primary results) — to the analysis. In the 1 million simulations of that combination, Patty’s probability of winning is over 68%. And that still includes the deeply flawed SUSA poll.

PS. In 2008, Darryl’s predictions missed Obama’s electoral vote total by one. His error was that he didn’t break out Nebraska’s EV by Congressional District.

Please, for a moment ask why the WEA opposes using test scores as a teacher evaluation method. The answer may go beyond “to protect teacher’s jobs.”

From the Wall Street Journal:
“One perplexing finding: A large proportion of teachers who rate highly one year fall to the bottom of the charts the next year. For example, in a group of elementary-school math teachers who ranked in the top 20% in five Florida counties early last decade, more than three in five didn’t stay in the top quintile the following year, according to a study published last year in the journal Education Finance and Policy.”

What happened here? Did the teachers get worse all of a sudden?

As an education system we are data rich and information poor. My school is not meeting “adequate yearly progress” and somebody could look at my schools assessment data and decide which teachers are not cutting it and fire them. But somebody else could use different data, different measures, and reach a completely different conclusion.

Instead let me invite PubliCola into my school, let you watch us teach for a week (or a year) you can look at our data, and you tell me who you’d fire. Better yet look into the eyes of the teacher who worked his or her ass off but who’s data doesn’t show it and tell them they don’t cut it.

N,

“If Fizz cared to notice local blogs”

We have a daily column called On Other Blogs Today that gives plenty of love to local sites .

We’ll keep a closer eye on HominidViews. Thanks.

That’s not accurate.

But keep in mind that the agenda you seem in favor of reduces teaching to acts of goodwill and charity. But they are not. We pay teachers to do a job, and they should be held accountable for it. When we’re failing at least a third of our children we can all be certain that the current system does not work.

What’s greater, Josh, your ignorance or your gullibility? Who SAYS student ability is measurable by test scores? I’ll tell you who. It’s the people whose companies write these tests and sell them to school districts — whose board our esteemed Seattle Public Schools superintendent sits on.

Who SAYS teachers are not accountable? Every single teachers union contract has provisions for grading teachers and for documenting them for termination. In the Seattle School District alone, 24 teachers were dismissed in the past year for poor performance. The system works if principals administer it.

You don’t know jack shit about education, and you don’t know jack shit about union contracts. Your “coverage” of this issue is atrocious. Even the phrase “an evaluation system that incorporates student achievement into a range of factors” is lifted straight from one of the corporate astroturf groups that is financed by testing companies and groups like the Gates and Broad Foundations.

Has it occurred to you that people in this state support our teachers, and want no part of charter schools or Arne Duncan’s so-called “reform?”

It’s so easy to follow the money here, for anyone who’s not too lazy. Kaplan has bought the Washington Post, the Gates Foundation has bought Crosscut, and somebody has bought you — damn cheaply, I’d bet. You’re pathetic, Josh. You might as well cut and paste Joni Balter, or Lynne Varner, for all your credibility on this subject.

what is your proposal for evaluation teacher performance?

I guess my snark prowess isn’t as strong as I thought.

As he does quite often, Darryl cross-posted his analysis at another local blog. Perhaps Fizz should occasionally take notice of that one as well.

A friend of mine used to teach in a small town on the other side of the Sound. She didn’t stay long, since the community didn’t place much value on education for boys who were just going to work in the mill, and girls who were meant for barefooted pregnancy.

If Tim gets his personal debts retired by his supporters, is that taxable? Does it have to be reported as income?

Josh it’s one thing to argue the merits of standardized tests for defining teaching effectiveness. It’s another to simply deny, as you do, that testing/ merit-pay is at the very core of Race to the Top. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-07-23-racetop_N.htm

As for police, your analogy is wrong. If we were to apply the merit pay analogy to police unions, we would tie police officer pay to the crime rate. That sounds pretty crazy to me. All I want is for police to be disciplined when they violate people’s constitutional rights, just like everyone else, including teachers.

I poked around Darryl’s site a bit before but left it (and forget about it until your post) cause he spends too much energy “editorializing,” which would probably be better described as “spewing commentary” in his case.

Conflicting predictions provide us a great way to decide who’s better. I’ll make sure to bookmark this one for future reference.

Think outside the box a bit here, John. What’s the alternative to national standardized tests? Anarchy let loose upon the world? The tyranny of teachers’ unions? No. There are all sorts of standards that may be set at the school, district, and state level for K-12 education. They may not be working properly. But does that necessarily mean that standardized tests will offer a panacea that no other reform could provide?

I find it utterly hilarious that Andrew Villeneuve would criticize Eyman for referring to himself in the third person.

Most likely not.

What’ll probably happen is that they’ll make a donation, the campaign will then pay back his loans to it, and then he’ll use that to pay back his debts. If it was a business there would have to be interest of some kind, but there maybe exceptions for loans to a campaign.

Even if they gifted him the money directly he would not have a tax liability. They might depending on how much of the annual and lifetime exemptions they had used.

The only way it would be income would be if he was paid for services or if the bank discharged the debt.

Sure teachers need to be accountable, but so do parents. It’s imperative to bring parents back into the fold of the education system.

Education reform is tricky, to say the least. Evaluating teachers based on performance is not something that can be done by tests alone, because testing misses the human factor of education.

I was actually having a great conversation yesterday with a couple of teachers about teacher performance and accountability – one teaches at a public high school here in Seattle, the other at a private middle school. The consensus – private school kids don’t do better because of the quality of the teachers, but because of the quality of the home environment.

We can only expect every child to succeed when every parent takes an interest. When we lose the sense of entitlement. Private school kids, as the conversation went, work harder because they know the cost of their education. Having the support at home, they focus on their studies better, and also (random) enjoy public and community service, as opposed to viewing it as something they have to do.

This matters because you have the public school kids who have parents who feel that, because they pay taxes, the teachers should do everything. It reminds me of a quote from the movie “Teachers”, where Nolte’s character says to Macchio’s character’s mom “Mrs. Pilikian, don’t you care about your son’s education?”, to which she responds, “Isn’t that your job?”

So many public school teachers put in so much effort, but the effort is something necessary from home, as well. When that is not there, when parents aren’t reading to their children, or having them do homework, or practice studies in the summer time, the kids’ scores suffer. So many of the reform crowd therefore thinks that the teachers are the failure. And that just is not the case most of the time.

Personally, I think we should have a longer school day, with dedicated study time, for all grade levels, invest more in after-school programs that continue the education day (in a fun way), and really push for more older student-younger student mentoring and tutoring (at my daughter’s school, the 7th and 8th graders do reading with the 1st and 2nd graders after school one day per week, for instance).

At the same time, the ongoing cutting of arts and sciences is having and will continue to have a detrimental effect overall on student learning, achievement, and preparedness for the real world.

But, back to my point – I don’t think we can even think to evaluate teachers based on test scores alone. There are so many other mitigating circumstances, and one kid’s poor test score may actually be a vast improvement over the previous year, but that would be missed because we only look at statistical success.

Just my two cents.

I’d like to see continuing teacher contracts given after 5 years instead of 2. I believe the first year contract should be non-continuing where there is no expectation for a job the following year unless the district chooses to rehire. Years 2-4 should be provisional where dismissal is easier due to fewer contractual safeguards. After 5 years it’s pretty clear who can cut it and who cannot.

Speaking systematically, just about anything is better than the status quo. And from the standpoint of a parent I applaud the discussion. But from the standpoint of a teacher I’m worried that this is another simple, easy, elegant and misguided fix of a complex problem.

In my 8 years of teaching I’ve had 7 evaluating administrators. I’ve had years of the school’s largest reading gains and I’ve had some year where I was competing with the bottom. I’ve had over 50% turn over in a year where fewer than half of the students who were in my class at the beginning of the year were there at the end. I’ve taught over 50 students through a year while never having more than 30 students in my class at a time. I was given the “hardest behavioral” students because somebody thought I was effective at reaching them. All of these factors greatly complicate the picture my student data reveals. And nobody has addressed these to my satisfaction.

Districts should develop common curriculum and common assessment across the district (let teacher’s design them). The data from the assessments should be recorded. But the most effective use of that data would be to drive instruction. (i.e. Our third graders are not reading fluently, they are making mistakes decoding multi syllable words…then we should look at our phonics curriculum).

I believe the picture which will emerge is that schools are doing a poor job of meeting the needs of English Language Learners and those with unstable families (where homework in not completed and the basic needs of children is not being met). The data we have shows that already but as a teacher and a part of the educational system I feel unequipped to address these factors which so greatly impact my class. Most disappointingly society doesn’t seem to want to address these issues either and finds it easier to blame “bad teachers.”

Yeah, I’m not sure that Josh understands that CPTED is a concept that a lot of people are into. There are certainly areas in the city where better lighting and line of sight could help to reduce crime. It should be something that all developers, particularly those working in areas with crime problems, should be considering.

ok, thanks for answering in a nonsuccinct way, let me pour thru this tome to figure it out.

[reads ten minutes, eyebrows furrowed....]

Okay, seems like your answer is you don’t believe in teacher evaluations at all beyond the initial decision to give them a tenured just cause position …which you want to fiddle with slightly on the start date.

Okay. NOTED. You don’t want any real teacher evals going on.

So, a one year snapshot in a career of constantly changing variables with slightly different hair styles is not enough information to evaluate somebody?

Josh, do your homework. CPTED is a nationally-recognized, mainstream method of designing buildings to reduce opportunity for crime. While I still believe McGinn is hippie-dippie, his listening to a CPTED presentation is not…

Although, he was probably forced to be there to appear as though he actually gives a crap about crime in this city…

What a dink.

First of all, I don’t have tenure. I have the expectation of a job next year unless I am told what I am not doing well and given an opportunity to fix it. Second I am not advocating for a vast change in teacher evaluation. I am advocating for a different direction of educational reform. While recognizing that districts often don’t have enough time to make an informed decision about the quality of a new teacher.

Walk the halls of a school. Watch people teach, see their interactions, discuss their instructional choices, and you’ll get a decent picture of a teacher’s quality. And that is how to evaluate a teacher. Data does not show this. The data we are capable of collecting is decent at illuminating educational gaps within a district. However it too variable to give a clear enough picture of an individual teacher’s quality for me to hang my professional & personal livleihood on it.

My issue with CPTED isn’t the concept– I’m actually a big fan– but HOLY SHIT, McGinn, a 10 year old just held up someone on a BUS. Design is a great long-term plan, but we have a crisis right now… and the timing of this CPTED thing makes it look like he just doesn’t get it.

hey that’s an interesting response, it suggests it’s subjective, I agree, but I don’t think you really do because I don’t think you’re for the principal subjetively firing teachers in his or her discretion based on judgments they make. But if that’s what your answer is bravo.

(Side note: yes, in reality it’s equivalent to tenure, almost. Very few teachers are let go for being not-so-good teachers; and in that case they get hearings and such; very different than, say working for a hi tech company or most of the labor force…..).

Jeez Josh! ivan just won’t get with the program!

HOW are you going to get a job on the $.$. Billy Boat IF you rock the boat? Afflicting the afflicted is much more bankable than afflicting the comfortable!

GREAT reporting, by the way! I hope you’re cc:ing Roger Ailes with this stuff – you’ve either repeated, verbatim, the lies of the right wingers, or, your reporting is so close to the lies that it is indistinguishable!

Maybe next time Arne jets into town you can get invited to 1 of those kool kidz fund raisers, like when Arne & Patty Murray had lunch at Wild Ginger (ummmm!) in early July during the AFT conference!

rmm.

Speaking of timing, there was yet another shooting at Rainer and Henderson last night – a location that McGinn cited as an example that would be looked at with Art Hushen. CPTED clearly has some benefits, but maybe we should get some more cops in South Seattle and on Metro buses?

i really dunno why going to this is “embarrassing.”

Public seminar on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle Police Department, in collaboration with the Downtown Seattle Association and the American Institute of Architects, will be hosting a two-hour seminar on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.
This seminar is being offered free of charge to the public and will be conducted by Mr. Art Hushen of the National Institute of Crime Prevention. Mr. Hushen is in Seattle teaching a 40-hour class to members of the Seattle Police Department and other city agencies. No advance registration is required and anyone interested is welcome to attend.
The seminar will be held on Wednesday, August 25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Bertha Knight Landes room of City Hall, 600 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) concept, CPTED practices encourage changes in the physical design of our buildings, streets and parks to enhance safety in communities and minimize the opportunities for crime to be committed. “It is the responsibility of every city department to support the safety of the public,” said McGinn. “The Seattle Police Department has brought in Mr. Hushen to help our city see each and every project through the lens of crime prevention. This seminar is a good opportunity for members of the public to learn from his expertise.”
CPTED practices have been in use for over 20 years in cities throughout the United States and around the world. Cities that have implemented CPTED practices have seen a dramatic reduction in crime. Those cities have also seen significant improvement in their business climate as CPTED principles foster increased pedestrian activity and awareness. “CPTED is yet another example of design making a difference,” said Lisa Richmond, Executive Director, AIA Seattle.
“The CPTED seminar will emphasize one of the most important principles in public safety: it’s the little things that matter,” said Councilmember Tim Burgess. “Lighting, view corridors and other environmental designs all greatly contribute to the safety of homes and entire neighborhoods.”
“Having an inviting, clean and safe urban environment is important to us all, particularly to the 58,000 people who live downtown,” said Kate Joncas, president of the Downtown Seattle Association. “Smart ideas on how architectural design can play a role in shaping that environment will no doubt have wide appeal to everyone from residents to developers.”
Crimes of opportunity such as theft, car prowls, burglaries, vandalism, and assault do not just affect the victim, they cause changes in the community at large which, while subtle at first, can have a profound effect on everyone who lives, works and visits Seattle. The CPTED practices are one of many tools we can use to reduce crime, increase positive community involvement, and keep our community thriving.
Councilmember Sally J. Clark said, “Our police, active and caring communities, and the design of the built environment all contribute to safe, sustainable neighborhoods. I’m glad to have Mr. Hushen here to highlight how Seattle can improve neighborhood design to limit crime.”