Katie Morrison

A 3rd grade teacher at Hazeltine Avenue 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, Morrison ranked:

Average overall.
More effective than average in math. Students of teachers in this category, on average, gained about 4 percentile points on the California Standards Test compared with other students at their grade level.
Average in English. Students of teachers in this category, on average, did not gain or lose significantly on the California Standards Test compared with other students at their grade level.

Morrison's LAUSD teaching history

2002-03 through 2008-09 academic years

Hazeltine Avenue Elementary, 2009 - 2003

Katie Morrison's Response:

I am deeply sadden and disappointed that the LA Times plans to publish the names and some sort of value-added performance rating scale of 6,000 teachers in LAUSD. Until one week ago, I had never even heard that this statistical research was being performed by the LA Times. I am not sure of the accuracy or validity of this research. For example, my Language Arts teaching skills far out weigh my math teaching skills --yet that is not what my value-added test scores show. I also know that I work well with students whose second language is English and that their learning curve is not alway consistent or reliable on a standardized test. In addition, the emotional and social development of primary students is as equally important as their academics. I spend a lot of time and energy on hopefully developing my students' character to be good citizens, caring, thoughtful, compassionate, fair, and hard-working which is not reflected in this value-added performance. So I do not understand the LA Times purpose in publishing performance ratings on individual teachers. I don't think this is the way to improve education or to encourage and support teachers in the classroom.
I do know that there are some teachers who do not belong in this profession, and that the school community needs to have more power to step in fairly and objectively dismiss those teachers. However, I don't think publishing these value-added performance scores will lead to anything positive. Parents are intelligent enough to know they want a teacher who creates a fun, challenging, positive learning environment and not a teacher who stressed out about testing scores and only focuses on the five students who will give the school a higher API score.
As a teacher in LAUSD over the last 20 some years, I have been present and engaged with my students to guide them in their emotional, social, and academic growth. I have also had to protect my elementary students from the media and let them know that they are worth much more than their test scores show.
This year I will do my best to keep my chin up and be there for my second grade students. Sincerely, Katie Morrison

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.