This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

On Court Decisions and Public Schools

A California Superior Court's ruling that teacher tenure, dismissal and layoffs are unconstitutional has been met with mixed reviews. Those who see it as more of an attack on collective bargaining than student rights are outraged. Those who believe teachers unions care more about themselves than their students are dancing in the streets. Both sides need to take a deep breath.

There's much to criticize about the written decision, claiming "Substantial evidence...makes it clear...that the Challenged Statutes disproportionally affect poor and minority students."

The testimony of three university professors was cited. Harvard Professor Raj Chetty told the court, "A single year in a classroom with a grossly ineffective teacher costs students $1.4 million in lifetime earnings." Another Harvard professor, Thomas Kane, testified, "Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District who are taught by a teacher in the bottom 5% of competence lose 9.54 months of learning in a single year compared to students with average teachers." Arizona State University Professor Emeritus David C. Berliner reportedly said, "1 to 3% of California teachers are grossly ineffective."

Find out what's happening in Carlsbadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After citing the testimony, the summary resorts to fuzzy math, asserting that, with roughly 275,000 teachers in California, "the extrapolated number of grossly ineffective teachers ranges from 2,750 to 8,250."

That conclusion rests also on the belief teacher effectiveness can be measured solely by student test scores. Upon cross-examination, Prof. Kane conceded other in-school factors, like class size and curriculum, can affect student test scores.

Find out what's happening in Carlsbadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It's a stretch to believe research conducted  in the Los Angeles Unified School District is an accurate reflection of students and teachers statewide. In the LAUSD, 90 percent of students are non-white, 79 percent are low income. Statewide it's 74 percent and 61 percent. In Carlsbad it's 42 percent and 24 percent.

And take a look at what two of these experts have written elsewhere about teacher evaluation. In a summary of his Harvard research on the subject, Kane writes "One method is to evaluate teachers based on their impacts on student test scores. However, more work is needed to determine the best way to use the value added approach for policy. For example, using VA in teacher evaluations could induce counterproductive responses that make it a poor measure of teacher quality, such as teaching to the test or cheating." (http://obs.rc.fas.harvard.edu/chetty/va_exec_summ.pdf)

After Prof. Berliner read the decision, he complained on a conservative blog site that he'd been misquoted:: "I said during deposition that I had never seen a 'grossly ineffective' teacher. When asked what percent might actually show up as cause for concern regularly, I said no more than 1-3%. I said nothing about 1-3% being grossly inadequate." (http://www.eiaonline.com/intercepts/)

California's teachers unions have vowed to appeal the court's decision and may be successful in doing so. But whether or not the ruling is overturned, the court of public opinion is likely to have the final say. According to a Rasmussen poll conducted last year, only 40% of Americans have a favorable opinion of teachers unions. In California, public support for labor unions has plunged, according to last December's Field Poll, with more voters for the first time saying they do more harm than good. Now, 45% of registered voters feel that way, compared to 40% who say they do more good.

Teachers unions ignore these polls at their peril. Although outraged by the credibility Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan gave the outcome of Vergara v. California, they should hold their noses and follow his advice.

"This decision presents an opportunity for a progressive state with a tradition of innovation to build a new framework for the teaching profession that protects students’ rights to equal educational opportunities while providing teachers the support, respect and rewarding careers they deserve."

Secretary Duncan's response may have given too much credence to the court's decision, but it does give the unions an opportunity to show their willingness to reconsider policies that have given rise to the public's growing lack of confidence in public schools. It's time for teachers unions to provide leadership for change, rather than defensiveness in protection of the status quo. In my next article I'll present my modest proposal for how to do it.

Richard J. Riehl is a former university administrator and high school English teacher

Contact him at richard_riehl@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 





We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?