Irma Estrada

A 2nd grade teacher at Gledhill Street Elementary 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, Estrada ranked:

Most effective overall.
Most effective in math. Students of teachers in this category, on average, gained about 11 percentile points on the California Standards Test compared with other students at their grade level.
Most effective in English. Students of teachers in this category, on average, gained about 7 percentile points on the California Standards Test compared with other students at their grade level.

Estrada's LAUSD teaching history

2002-03 through 2008-09 academic years

Gledhill Street Elementary, 2009 - 2005

Irma Estrada's Response:

Well, needless to say, I'm happy and relieved to see these scores; but I must add some background here. I am usually a third grade teacher. In the year 2008-2009, I taught second grade. My experience as a third grade teacher helped make for the success reflected by these second grade scores. I really hit hard in areas that I knew were key to my students success and that would prepare them for third grade.

Plus, in my opinion---I felt the test was much easier than it is in third grade. There are so many new skills to learn in third grade compared to second grade. Second grade seemed to be more of a review of first grade skills. How do you account for the difference. Is the third grade test harder? Who has taken a close look at the tests themselves?

Your series of articles is certainly creating controversy. While I believe reform is necessary in education, I fear your reporting has opened a Pandora's Box. Teachers need information, tools, and support. Targeting them by name in a newspaper is degrading and disrespectful to a population of educators who put a lot of heart and soul (not to mention time and money) into a job that is not properly compensated and that every year, increasingly so in public education, presents a whole slue of challenges that go beyond scores on a test.

I am not planning to cancel my LA Times subscription as we've been encouraged to do by our union, but I can certainly understand those who do.

Irma Estrada

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.