A judge up in Albany has ruled that Sheri Lederman's ineffective rating based on student test results was arbitrary and capricious. After a long day and evening at school, it is nice to come home to some positive news.
For complete coverage go to the Diane Ravitch blog, the New York City Parents blog or the Washington Post Answer Sheet.
For teachers looking to use this as a precedent for their own ineffective ratings, here is the relevant part of the decision:
5 comments:
Is any teacher surprised to learn that when an intelligent and disinterested party, in this case a judge, actually examines the VAM and APPR scheme it is found to be arbitrary and capricious? Surely this is something SED knew or should have known.
Turns out a direct link between student 'growth' and teacher performance is not to be divined via a magical mathematical formula. No matter how mysterious the formula is.
Have no expectation of an apology from SED but expect a wholesale dismissal of VAM-based and false incompetence charges.
At some point all interested parties will realize this destroys the entire gotcha-based scheme of linking test scores and teacher evaluations. That is right, the entire scheme. Sorry Andy.
It's a highly flawed system, very vulnerable to lawsuits. Think about this, my rating as an instrumental music teacher is based on test scores from another subject? And possibly not even students I teach? Ridiculous. A good lawyer would have a field day with this scenario.
Finally, a highly effective judgement. Danielson would be proud of this judge.
This judgement comes from the highest court in the state. It is now precedent, but, it still remains to be enforced for other teachers. That is to say, any teachers seeking relief must hire their own lawyers and sue in order to invoke the precedent established in this case.
NYSUT seems to have signaled that they intend to do nothing with this precedent. Basically, they wish to "strangle it from off-stage" (to borrow a phrase from a respected blogger).
The powers that be think there is no threat of a class action. I think we need to prove them wrong. Our union won't help. We need to go outside of them. School districts will only abandon this evaluation system when they realize that it is illegal and leaves them liable to hemorraging legal bills.
That is why in NYC it is so important to vote for MORE-NEW ACTION in the current UFT election. We will fight for a fair evaluation system. Even if we only win a few Executive Board seats,we will make this a priority.
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