Carol Kersey Walker

A 3rd grade teacher at Brentwood Science in 2009

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 2002-03 through 2008-09 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.

Overall value-added effectiveness

Math effectiveness

English effectiveness

This chart shows where teachers in this effectiveness category fall on a distribution of all teachers’ scores.

Compared with other Los Angeles Unified teachers on the value-added measure of test score improvement, Walker ranked:

Less effective than average overall.
Less effective than average in math. Students of teachers in this category, on average, lost about 4 percentile points on the California Standards Test compared with other students at their grade level.
Less effective than average in English. Students of teachers in this category, on average, lost about 3 percentile points on the California Standards Test compared with other students at their grade level.

Walker's LAUSD teaching history

2002-03 through 2008-09 academic years

Brentwood Science, 2009 - 2003

Carol Walker's Response:

It is interesting to view that I am deemed a less than effective teacher overall, however slightly higher in Math. I do not know what criteria was used to determine my effectiveness and how it actually relates to my students success. On state testing, I have scored higher than the state and higher than the district consistently for the past 3 to 4 years, so I do not understand how I can be less than effective. If I am less than effective and my scores surpass LAUSD's average score, than LAUSD is severely less than effective overall. This past year alone, 19/21 of my students were proficient or advanced in Math and 16/21 proficient or advanced in Language Arts including the ELD students that I had.
The success of my students on state testing is only a portion of my success. I am educating the entire child not only academically, but socially and emotionally as well. When it comes to a child, it's not only about the numbers.

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.