Teacher Takes Her Low Evaluation to Court...and Wins

From the Washington Post's The Answer Sheet via Carol Burris, the executive director of the Network for Public Education, a nonprofit advocacy group.

 Sheri Lederman, the beloved fourth-grade teacher from Great Neck, New York, was victorious in her battle to have her 2013-14 VAM score of “ineffective” rating vacated and set aside by the Supreme Court of New York State.  Justice Roger D. McDonough, who heard the case, recognized that score for what it was — “arbitrary” and “capricious.”
In his ruling, McDonough cited affidavits submitted by Linda Darling Hammond of Stanford University, Aaron Pallas of Columbia University, Audrey Amrien-Beardsley of Arizona State University, Sean Corcoran of New York University, Jesse Rothstein of University of California at Berkeley, clinical school psychologist Brad Lindell, and me.  Each of us used research and data to demonstrate that the VAM system was indeed arbitrary and capricious, and therefore an abuse of discretion by the New York State Education Department. In his ruling, the judge characterized that evidence as “overwhelming.”
The defendant was John B. King, the former New York State education commissioner and present U.S. Department of Education Secretary, who did not appear in court to defend the system he commissioned and defended as valid, reliable and fair when he was working in New York.

Comments

Anonymous said…
It is about time... VAM is a statistical sham. Unfortunately a few teachers committed suicide after lousy VAM inspired evaluations. So I wonder how the big wigs like John King our current Secretary of Education is taking the news.

-- Dan Dempsey
mirmac1 said…
Think of the $$$$$$$ that has gone down this rathole! Thanks to Gates, Broad and friends!
Teacher Greg said…
I wonder what the rest of the story is behind King not showing up in court to defend his system. Lack of interest? Realizing that it is indefensible? Too busy jumping on the next corporate education bandwagon? Too busy with his new job? Not requested to attend by the current NY government?

If he had the option of showing up and didn't that speaks volumes about the utter lack of character that most of these corporate education shills have.
Anonymous said…
King's nonsense certainly makes him an appropriate successor to Arne Duncan's nonsense.

Obama certainly fumbled twice when he selected Secretary of Education.

-- Dan Dempsey
Anonymous said…
But if the computer says so, how can it ever be wrong? It's a Computer!! A Computer!!

Somebody forgot the maxim, garbage-in, garbage-out.

WSDWG
seattle citizen said…
WSDWG, The Master Control Program has noted your continued recalcitrance. Stand by for Deresolution.

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