Teacher evaluations

Teachers and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have been discussing the use of student achievement as one of the measurements in teacher evaluations for a while. The recent ruling by a superior court judge should help reach a deal that balances an interest in teaching students with labor protections for teachers.

In his preliminary ruling, Judge James C. Chalfant upheld the lawsuit by a group of Los Angeles parents that claimed that the LAUSD is violating a state law known as the Stull Act, which requires teacher evaluations to include measurements of how well students are learning what the district and the state expect them to know.

The lawsuit is one more piece of the parent movement that favors school reform. Frustrated by their children’s low achievement, these parents see the teachers, and especially their union, as a defender of the rights of teachers in direct conflict with the interests of students.

Given that they teach in very complex circumstances, teachers are unfairly singled out as the ones responsible for all educational problems. While conditions completely unrelated to teaching do affect what students learn, student achievement shouldn’t be completely excluded as a factor in teacher evaluations. This is just one of many factors that should be taken into account, and shouldn’t be ignored.

We hope the court decision contributes to moderate the hard line of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), which so far has rejected any link between student achievement and teacher evaluations.

UTLA is right about this being a contractual matter, but parents are right that student learning should be the priority for everyone involved in education.

We think it’s essential for teachers to work with the LAUSD to improve the school system. UTLA’s cooperation is necessary for this, even in accepting that its members play a fundamental role in education and that student achievement should be one of many factors in teacher evaluations.