Accountability in education—from the national level to the individual classroom teacher—has become a front-burner news topic in the United States

On August 14, the Los Angeles Times rocked the education world by publishing an article titled “Who’s teaching L.A.’s kids?” in which the newspaper obtained seven years of math and English test scores from the Los Angeles Unified School District and used the information to estimate the effectiveness of about 6,000 third- through fifth-grade teachers. The Times used a value-added analysis, which rates teachers based on their students’ progress on standardized tests from year to year.

The newspaper’s findings noted that “highly effective teachers routinely propel students from below grade level to advanced in a single year.” Conversely, “some students landed in the classrooms of the poorest-performing instructors year after year,” greatly diminishing their chance for educational success.

The article pointed out that, contrary to popular belief, the best teachers were not concentrated in the most affluent schools, but were scattered throughout the district. In addition, the data indicated that the surest sign of a teacher’s effectiveness was the engagement of his or her students.

Publication of the database generated hundreds of thousands of page views and stimulated great debate. United Teachers Los Angeles blasted the publication of the data, calling it “the height of journalistic irresponsibility.” Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan lauded the article, saying at a speech in Little Rock, Arkansas, “That’s what accountability is all about—facing the truth and taking responsibility and then taking action.”

Accountability is a key factor in the No Child Left Behind Act, with more and more schools facing penalties—including closure—for failing to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmarks. Furthermore, in order to be eligible for Race to the Top funding, states can’t have laws in place that prohibit linking student scores and teacher evaluation.

Meanwhile, the recently released 42nd Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools found that Americans believe improving the quality of teaching should be the top national education priority in the United States. This includes recruiting the best teacher candidates, providing professional development to help current and prospective teachers use the best teaching practices, and doing whatever we can to retain the best teachers while dismissing those who aren’t skilled or suited for the job.

Spotlight continues

This focus on teaching and teachers seems likely to increase in the weeks and months ahead. As this issue of Reading Today went to press, NBC was holding an Education Nation summit the week of September 27, with scheduled speakers that included Arne Duncan, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Colin and Alma Powell of the America’s Promise Foundation. The two-day summit was part of a week long focus on education issues by various NBC programs.

This fall also marks the release of a hard-hitting documentary titled Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim, who won an Academy Award for An Inconvenient Truth. The film, which includes a social action component urging viewers to become involved in education issues in their local communities, revolves around the stories of five families across the United States who are trying to move their children from ineffective local public schools into charter schools.

At a pre-screening of Waiting for Superman in August, Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, said, “I believe our nation is in a crisis because of this issue—education. We have hidden this crisis and swept it under the rug. We have young people who are underneath the radar. The only solution is education. This film is designed to get people talking about the issue and doing something about it.”

“The movie takes a real hard look at how hard it is to get rid of teachers who are ineffective and tenured,” said Randy Testa, a former teacher who now serves as vice president of education and professional development at Walden Media, which produced Waiting for Superman along with Paramount and Vantage.

However, Testa added, “The movie very clearly states and celebrates the power of great teachers who are doing their jobs and helping kids. The movie is a celebration of what reading teachers do day in and day out.”

Still, many teachers may see Waiting for Superman as yet another attack on education and the teaching profession.

Student scores: Valid way to evaluate teachers?

Even as the focus on teacher effectiveness intensifies, questions remain as to the validity of using student test scores to evaluate teachers. In August, the Economic Policy Institute issued a report titled Problems with the Use of Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers.

The report’s authors, who include four former presidents of the American Educational Research Association, state unequivocally that the accuracy and reliability of analyses of student test scores, even in their most sophisticated forms, are highly problematic for high-stakes decisions regarding teachers. The report’s authors conclude that “test scores should be only a small part of an overall comprehensive evaluation.”

Meanwhile, a study published in the fall 2009 issue of the journal Education Finance and Policy (MIT Press) found great variability in the year-to-year rankings of teachers based on student test scores, further casting doubt on the reliability of this method for judging teacher effectiveness.

This is a hot topic with no easy answers. Watch future issues of Reading Today for further coverage.

The International Reading Association supports excellent preparation for preservice reading educators. Through its recently released Standards for Reading Professionals, Revised 2010, IRA outlines what reading educators in various capacities should know and be able to do. Teacher education institutions use the standards in program development.

IRA also supports ongoing professional development for all educators involved in teaching reading, and it offers such opportunities through conferences, publications, webinars, and more. To learn more, visit IRA’s website at www.reading.org.

Taking account of accountability. (October 2010). Reading Today, 28(2), 8.