NYPost has an interesting article about how certain parents want the teacher evaluation grades be made public.
Albany politicians must slap a failing grade on any plan to conceal teacher grades, outraged public-school parents told The Post yesterday.
“There needs to be accountability, and that’s only going to happen if everything is out in the open,” said Jasmine McPhatter, whose daughter is a second-grader at PS 50 in East Harlem.
“We should know.”
The nursing student cited recent reports of teachers getting “in trouble or not doing their jobs” as one of the reasons why the ratings must be disclosed.
“The union isn’t looking out for our kids, just themselves, and this is why we’re where we are. Students should be the priority.”
TAKE THE POLL: SHOULD TEACH GRADES BE PUBLIC?
Parents were stunned to learn that state lawmakers — led by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — were planning a legislative “sneak attack” that would shield teacher ratings from public view, as The Post reported yesterday.
Those grades will be produced under a new evaluation system that’s set to debut in districts across the state — including New York City — in the coming school year.
“It should be an open forum — plain and simple,” said Vinni Persad, whose daughter is in first grade at PS 123 in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
“It should all be public. We need to know what our child’s teacher is about. If the rating isn’t high, I’d want to find out why.”
Unlike the recent rankings released by the city, the new evaluations would be produced by the state and be based on more than just a teacher’s effect on student test scores. They will also, for example, incorporate principals’ observations.
Under the system, teachers will be placed into categories ranging from ineffective to highly effective.
Quality data helps moms and dads understand what’s happening in the classroom, parents say.
“Why should they hide this when it’s in the best interest of education to be open?” said MTA worker Richard Young, who has a son in second grade at PS 50.
“It upsets me,” added Young, who is also the father of a public-school teacher in Albany. “There should be nothing hidden when it comes to our kids’ education.”
Still, some parents and educators say there’s no benefit to making individual teachers’ ratings public.
Martin Krongold, a member of the Citywide Council on High Schools, said that parents should have access to teachers’ scores, but that the results should be communicated via parent-teacher conferences or directly by a principal.
“I support unequivocally that the information be made public,” he said. “I’d like it by school — but I don’t see the value of identifying someone individually.”
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