Should teacher ratings be public record?
Watertown Daily Times: State courts open teacher ratings to the public
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They are public employee’s
They are public employee’s their pay is public record. So why shouldn’t their performance reviews be record?
If the teachers performance
If the teachers performance reviews are public record then so should every other public employee. From top to bottom. That means all city employees, all county employees, and all state employees. I would be interesting to read the performance evaluation on some of our public employees.
I look at "ratings" different
I look at "ratings" different than evaluations. I don't thnik subjective evaluations, civilian or military should be public. But a rating, or percentile rating being made public would let us know how well that stand up to their peers.
We pay their salary, whether
We pay their salary, whether they be teachers, law enforcement, etc., and whether they be city, county or state employees, then their performance evaluation should be a matter of public record. If they are doing their job, then public scrutiny of their performance should not be a problem, but a matter of pride.
Good Point John.
Good Point John.
What ratings are we talking
What ratings are we talking about? Are teachers evaluated independent of their personnel records? I doubt it.
Public or otherwise, employee personnel records are confidential- for a reason. Do we need to know how often a teacher was late? Do we need to know how often a teacher aggravated the aide in charge of duplicating? Do we need to know about the occasion when a teacher accidently parked in a spot reserved for board members? Do we need to know about the club advisor who's group held a bowl-a-thon on a Sunday and some kid used it as an excuse to miss church services? ...The librarian who put a controversial book on the shelf? ...The disputed grade that held a student back? ...The coach who didn't take the team to the sectionals or benched a player?
Do we really want school teachers beleaguered by axe-grinders? Teachers should be teaching; not defending themselves. ...Someone want to take teachers off the list of scapegoats for our economic crisis?
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yrT-0Xbrn4&feature=player_embedded]
C.M. wrote, "Public or
C.M. wrote, "Public or otherwise, employee personnel records are confidential- for a reason."
From the WDT article:
"The state’s Freedom of Information Law addresses unwarranted invasions of personal privacy, Mr. Freeman said, but there is less privacy entitled to public employees because they are accountable to the public. He said the state court’s decision is supported by prior judicial cases.
“In a variety of circumstances, courts have said that issues about public employees relating to their duties are public,” he said. “And in this case, the court found that the public has a significant interest in knowing how well or poorly individual teachers perform.”
DISPELLING A MYTH
Release of ratings is a touchy issue among teachers unions and administrators, who are used to dealing with personnel matters internally, Mr. Freeman said. Typically, any notable personnel decisions are made during executive sessions at school board meetings.
But while intra-agency documents containing subjective advice and opinions may be legally withheld, he said, the final ratings are required to be revealed to the public.
“The law specifies that the factual information is public, like financial determinations are,” Mr. Freeman said.
Many people are convinced that the ratings should be confidential personnel matters, he said, because they’ve been falsely regarded that way in the past. He said that notion is a myth because there is no law that states they should be withheld.
“One of my goals is to explode myths, and this is one of them,” he said. “Too many Americans have become stupid and sheep-like, because when we hear these things over and over again we begin to believe they’re true. But you won’t find the word ‘personnel’ anywhere in the state’s Freedom of Information Law. There are some issues that could be withheld, but there are just as many that need to be shared with the public.”"
Howard, as I noted, I'm
Howard, as I noted, I'm confused as to what 'ratings' are to be made public. Regardless of the cited court opinion, certain personnel issues are personal and deserve privacy (medical issues- for example). I would agree that DECISIONS relative to personnel made in executive session should be made public, though the private DISCUSSIONS attendant to those decisions might warrant exclusion. Still, I would not consider open or closed session personnel discussions, 'ratings.'
If an objective teacher rating system was devised, specifically for public consumption, I would not object to its publication. But I do not believe such a rating system exists in any local school district- if at all. 'Ratings' to me implies ranking or graduated evaluation. Personnel files may contain graduated evaluations; they may not. I doubt there is any single standard for personnel files, though I accede that in the last couple decades the tendency has been to utilize quantitative evaluation formats. In any regard- I maintain that not everything contained in a personnel file is public. Aside from personal information pertaining to the employee, there could be parents or students cited.
Here's a rating
Here's a rating system...
http://www.ratemyteachers.com/batavia-high-school/13214-s
I'd like to make a couple of
I'd like to make a couple of distinctions.... first of all I think the info we want is the teacher's performance. All the details some have pointed out are very ancillary. 1) Pass or fail rate of students, attendance, and the only subjective I think is relative, how well they work with co-workers, peers.
We as tax payers need to be able to have a say in this, while we are at it maybe we should have a rating/performance report of this type for admin as well seeing as how there is alot of fat in this area of the budget. Look to Pembroke where the superintendent makes more than the salary of our state govenor...... It may be a bit much but how else do we really gain control and a say over a smaller local beuracracy that seems to do what it wants with barely a nod towards those who fund and are serviced by what they do.