Education think tank urges media not to publish teachers’ names with performance scores

Center for American Progress
The Los Angeles Times won an IRE Philip Meyer Award for publishing teachers’ individual performance scores in 2010, but the Center for American Progress says that’s counterproductive. It says the Times “maximized the controversy—and perhaps the number of hits it drew to Web pages with advertising” by publishing teachers’ names. Publicizing individual scores just causes parents to try to move their children out of certain classrooms rather than spurring broader reform, the organization argues. “Any public association between teachers’ names and their value-added estimates will create a kind of vicious circle. Instead of tethering performance evaluation for current teachers to the goal of improving students’ academic achievement, value-added estimates will help preserve the status quo.” A court battle has been under way over a similar disclosure for New York City teachers. || Related: Parents ask LAT to remove teacher’s rating after he commits suicide (Poynter.org)