Back to School: Grading the Teacher

Regarding the usefulness of value-added scores for teachers, why shouldn’t parents be given the opportunity to enroll their children for individual teachers, not just schools, using such a tool?

Teacher union leaders who oppose value-added reporting systems are demonstrating that when forced to choose between protecting the jobs of ineffective teachers and improving educational options for children, their dues-paying members come first.

Historically, newspapers have produced many of the nation’s best school report cards. If the Times followed the Los Angeles Times’ lead for Big Apple schools, the results would be extremely valuable.