Julieanne R. Harmatz
A 5th grade teacher at Park Western Place Elementary in 2010
These graphs show a teacher's "value-added" rating based on his or her students' progress on the California Standards Tests in math and English. The Times’ analysis used all valid student scores available for this teacher from the 2003-04 through 2009-10 academic years. The value-added scores reflect a teacher's effectiveness at raising standardized test scores and, as such, capture only one aspect of a teacher's work.
Math effectiveness
English effectiveness
About this rating
The red lines show The Times’ value-added estimates for this teacher. Harmatz falls within the “more effective than average” category of district teachers in math and within the “less effective than average” category in English. These ratings were calculated based on test scores from 145 students.
Because this is a statistical measure, each score has a degree of uncertainty. The shading represents the range of values within which Harmatz’s actual effectiveness score is most likely to fall. The score is most likely to be in the center of the shaded area, near the red line, and less likely in the lightly shaded area. Teachers with ratings based on a small number of student test scores will a have wider shaded range.
The beige area shows how the district's 11,500 elementary school teachers are distributed across the categories.
Harmatz's LAUSD teaching history
Years used for value-added rating. See FAQ for details.
- Park Western Place Elementary, 2010 - 2005
Julieanne Harmatz's Response:
Your data does not reflect who or what I teach. Many teachers in LAUSD partner teach with others and this data misrepresents them. I've analyzed my data for the students and the subjects I teach and the data diverges tremendously by class. Same teacher...same kinds of students demographically... different results....umm... wonder why? Maybe because this snap shot is just that: a snap shot. One picture could be more accurate than the other. OR maybe both are inaccurate. Do two days of testing reflect a child's learning over a whole year? It might measure their development at this point in their school career that has been built by multiple teachers over the years. Thoughtful people won't judge a student or a teacher on just this one picture. The data is valuable from an instructional stand point, as are all assessments. But certainly not for making wholesale judgments as to a teacher's value or the "value" that has been "added" to the child.
The Times gave LAUSD elementary school teachers rated in this database the opportunity to preview their value-added evaluations and publicly respond. Some issues raised by teachers may be addressed in the FAQ. Teachers who have not commented may do so by contacting The Times.
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