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Low science scores should shock state at the center of technology universe
(This commentary first appeared in TOP-Ed.) Remember the old song “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel from the ’60s? I thought about the song last week after the results of the NAEP science tests showed that California students were at or near the bottom in our nation in nearly every measure of performance in science. The lack of outrage from our leaders in Sacramento that greeted these depressing results made me “picture the sound of silence.” Back when that song was topping the charts, you could still graduate from high school with the possibility of making a living for your family. Back then the wage difference between a college graduate and a high school graduate wasn’t so extreme. Even a high school dropout had the possibility of a decent life … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, STEM, Tests
Analysis of LA Times series shows pitfalls of using test scores to evaluate teachers
February 10th, 2011 | 4 Comments
By Charles Taylor Kerchner / commentary ~ EdSource Extra
(This commentary first appeared in TOP-Ed.) Nearly half the rankings handed out to L.A. Unified teachers by the Los Angeles Times may be wrong. This is one of the conclusions reached by Derek Briggs and Ben Domingue of the University of Colorado at Boulder, who conducted a reanalysis of the data used by the Times in their value-added analysis of teacher performance. Using very strong language for the semi-polite world of social science, they concluded that the newspaper’s teacher effectiveness ratings were “based on unreliable and invalid research.” At issue here is the validity of the original research conducted by Richard Buddin, the wisdom and responsibility of the Times in publishing individual teacher names, and the newspaper’s response to the reanalysis. In a policy environment where value-added analysis is actively being considered as … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Evaluations, Teachers