Thanks for the good rating, but if anyone takes you guys seriously anymore than it's a real shame to us as a society. Your new and improved scale is supposed to be accurate "this time". How do we know?

Interesting... every year I compare my student's growth over that of the previous year on their Math and LA CST scores. My Math scores always show a greater average increase (per student) than my LA scores, so would I not then be seen as being more effective in Math than LA? And yet the results here appear to be the opposite.

For two years I worked in a collaborative team at Teresa Hughes Elementary. During that time I taught students that were actually on the roster of another teacher. These students were instructed by me for language arts, and some of them made susbstantial gains, but these gains are not reflected on me. In addition, some of these students were English Language learners, and rose from "far below basic" to either "proficient" or in one case "advanced" but this growth is reflected on their homeroom teacher, not on me.

"Because this is a statistical measure, each score has a degree of uncertainty," headlines the second paragraph of my ratings preview. If this is true, then this score is meaningless to me. I need valid data.

Though personally disappointed in my performance over the period of observation, I support this data based approach. It is not reflected here, but this school year, I have taken several steps to reflect on and improve my teaching. I sincerely believe that without objective data to allow us to see who we really are, we will not improve.

A couple of points to consider:

-Administrators at individual sites and across the district should also be highlighted. The leadership (or lack thereof) in our schools is critical to student success. Too long have our administrative types been allowed to hide, while the teachers take the punishment. I've been teaching long enough to know that ineffective or destructive leadership can put a school into disarray, or worse. A great leader will lead you to victory. A bad leader will push you into defeat.

-Fear of knowledge. I am surprised at how many teachers are afraid to face the truth of their situations. Many refuse to even look at their rankings. I can only attribute this to an unwillingness to change and improve? As I teach my students, the path to success is driven by making mistakes and learning from them.

-To the Times: as you look forward to next year's rankings of the 2010-2011 year, you may consider separating out that year from the aggregate data, since this will be the first year we have had the information in hand, and would have had the time to make a change. I, for one, would be very interested to see if this is making a difference or not in our teaching (for those that actually took the data seriously, instead of sticking our heads in the sand). I am hopeful that this will spark honest discussion, and positive change.

I have had SEVERAL special ed. students in my class over the years, w/various learning disabilities, some w/multiple learning disabilities. Yet their scores are included in my rating. So, b/c the district won't release that info. to you, you publish these ratings anyway..... In 2010, I had 5 sp. ed students in my class. Their scores are judged like a regular ed. student. I am being penalized for teaching my sp. ed. students the very best I can. Does that seem accurate or fair to you? Your scores hurt teacher morale more than anything. Why can't you see that?

Being seen as "most effective" is wonderful. I cannot stress enough, however, how difficult it is to have children excel on a test, that for them has no meaning or value. There are countless teachers being judged here on test scores that reflect a mere few hours out of a 180-day school year. These test scores are dependent on so many factors outside of an educator's control. Did the child get enough sleep? Did he or she eat breakfast? Does he or she care what kind of score is attained? I have been fortunate, in that the majority (certainly not all) of my students over this time period have been serious students who wanted to do well.

When the economist who compiled these ratings was a small child, was he accidentally dropped on his head? The fact that these ratings can fluctuate so much suggests that you've used unreliable measurements, and shot from the hip to sell more papers. Haven't you learned what can happen when you take pot shots at the reputations of conscientious people?

I work very hard to give my students a California standards-based education. I believe I DO give them "value" that cannot be measured by a statistical graph. This value-added system does not reflect ALL that I give them. I do not merely teach to "the test" as many teachers do, but I bring music, art, drama, social studies, health, and life skills into the classroom. This will enable them to grow up to be well-rounded and productive members of society. Question: Does the value-added rating system take the attendance of the student into consideration? Unfortunately, the school where I teach has high absenteeism and tardiness. Needless to say, this also effects academic progress, and should be taken into consideration, if it is not already. Additionally, we deal with behavioral problems on a daily basis. This leads to constant classroom disruptions that stop the flow of instruction, and impede student learning.

Thanks for reading my comments. Undoubtedly, we all want what's best for the students of California.

Carmel Miller

In the nine years I have taught at San Miguel, over 270 students have taken the CST or CTBS standardized tests. Yet you chose to base the results on 169? Point 2: Bell shaped curves went out in the 1990s because of the inconclusiveness that your study again demonstrates. Point 3: How do you answer the fact that CTBS is not comparable to CST?

I am a National Board Certified Teacher, one of the 5% most qualified and effective teachers in the nation. Last year I redesignated 15 out of 16 L.E.P. students, three of which were learning disabled and consequently under my tutelage were exited from Special Education. The 16th student was autistic and went from a F.B.B. to a B.B. He also was exited from Special Ed and now is on a 504 and as needed consultation basis in middle school. All my student raised their scores in Language Arts, however may not have changed levels....oh yes that is a year's growth for a year's education, and furthermore my six F.B.B.'s rose to B.B. and Basic, which is two to three years' growth of learning. This apparently is not value based in your eyes, but is more effective than anyone else in my grade level yet who you deem to be more effective than myself.

Effective teachers get the least effective students, but we move them further than ever before and although we may not work miracles, we get results that no one else was capable of doing. Just ask Jose, my current 5th grader who came in reading 42 words a minute (135 is 50% of grade level and thought proficient by OCR, not by my standards) and had a first grade comprehension level in September. He commented this afternoon "Hey Ms H , isn't weird to see me reading all the time?" as he put "Desperaux" in his backpack to finish this weekend...and he will. He is now reading at fourth grade level and asked if he could redo the Quarter 3 comprehension test because 85% just wasn't good enough. I taught a 10 year old who was expelled from a neighborhood school as a third grader not only how to read but to enjoy it enough to read between soccer games,,,no small feat. Hey you might think I am one of the least effective teachers in this district, but Jose will say different and I will as well. Shame on you and your audacity to slander my reputation and career WORLDWIDE through the internet! This is the epitome of journalistic ineffectiveness and the most disregarding and utter devaluation of information I have ever come across in 34 years of teaching. How dare you call yourselves journalists; you defame and putrefy the concept and I am ashamed I ever encouraged a student to aspire to become one of your kind.
Georgette Haverluk, N.B.C.T.