Qeona Patrice Hamilton

Qeona Hamilton's Response:

It should be an honor to see that I am one of the most effective teachers at my school, but for me, it is not. I am actually shocked at my ranking. Honestly, I expected to be somewhere between average and more effective. Many of my students have made significant growth in English and Math, but others have not. Each year, my colleagues and I review our students' CST data and use that information to plan instruction for the upcoming school year. I have witnessed both gains and losses in student achievement from year to year, but it seems that the value-added system does not reflect those results accurately. That alone makes me question the validity and effectiveness of this approach to ranking teachers. Many of the teachers from my school who have received a less effective ranking are actually effective, dedicated, and very hard working. Do the value-added scores take into consideration that California State Standards change from grade level to grade level, some more significant than others? This system projects that a student should achieve a certain score or meet a certain level of growth. But, that does not mean that the students will meet that projection or that their scores are a reflection solely on the teacher. I can just imagine how embarrassed I'd feel with a lower ranking. Having said that, I feel hurt and betrayed that LAUSD has released this information. Teachers deserve so much more appreciation for educating our children. We put in numerous unpaid hours of preparation and planning for instruction for our students. We have even agreed to take a pay cut to improve the budget and save our colleagues' jobs. My question now is, why have we, teachers, become targets?