Some of you may have been following the issue of whether "teacher data reports" (i.e., teacher performance rankings) should or should not be released to the media and the public. Well, the NY Supreme Court gave the green light and ruled that the information must be released to those who requested it under FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) and I agree with the court's determination. Not to say that the data is flawless or that the reliance on standardized test scores is ideal because it's not. But this is one measure of evaluating teachers and it's useful when considered alongside other data. If the teachers' union has such strong concerns, it should start focusing on how to improve this tool instead of trying to eliminate it. Then we can debate what other measurements should be used in addition to teacher data reports in order to determine teacher effectiveness. The teachers' union will be appealing the decision so no teacher scores will be released just yet.
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