Stephen Robert Seal

A 5th grade teacher at Eshelman 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, Seal 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.
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.

Seal's LAUSD teaching history

2002-03 through 2008-09 academic years

Eshelman Avenue Elementary, 2009 - 2003

Stephen Seal's Response:

Interesting results but only based on one snapshot of learning--the CST standardized test given in May of each year. When I look at my class based on multiple measures of assessment, as well as class observations, discussions, and spot quizes, I see a very different trend. NCLB has pushed the education profession to stress everything toward one test, when everyone knows that one thing never makes up a whole. It really is an incomplete picture, particularly in terms of the complete absence of content area information. Critical thiking skills are the key to the future and pushing everything based on data from one lone source is sorely lacking in substance. Longitudinal information is helpful, but only when it is based on multiple measures of a childs development. We must remember that statistics tell many stories depending on how the information is framed. What is the old quote "Lies, D### lies, and statistics."

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.