Dear Editor,
I cannot say whether Michelle Nelson (letters, Jan. 26) knows
that there are indeed ways to design analysis, especially with a
school the size of Gilroy High, to reveal significant differences
between teachers. However, Superintendent Edwin Diaz must surely
know this – but he is unlikely to ever propose reform.
Dear Editor,
I cannot say whether Michelle Nelson (letters, Jan. 26) knows that there are indeed ways to design analysis, especially with a school the size of Gilroy High, to reveal significant differences between teachers. However, Superintendent Edwin Diaz must surely know this – but he is unlikely to ever propose reform. Like Principal Bob Bravo, who uses the “not a good fit” excuse to remove those who do not follow like sheep, he is owned by the teacher’s union. Like all unions, they need to protect their incompetents to survive, thereby gaining their loyalty through table scraps and the long-term dependency carrot. Avoiding any performance metric is a very convenient way to do just that. That is why unions are no more than today’s protection rackets.
Ms. Nelson, speaking for the teachers’ union, claims that no teacher evaluation system can be fair. I would like to describe to Ms. Nelson, as well as to her own local racketeer, Dale Morejon, the evaluation system used by a relatively-nearby private high school. I use the math program as an example because that is the one with which I am very familiar.
There are two algebra one classes offered. The students who sign up for this are divided at random and assigned the classes. Sometimes scheduling conflicts cause a swap; a simple statistical test is done to be sure that there is no significant difference between the mean overall GPAs and overall science GPAs of the two classes. There are no disruptive students in mainstream courses; preventing others from learning is not tolerated. (Unlike GUSD, problem students are isolated, as they should be.) Each class takes the same tests and the mean scores (over time, not just one semester) are compared, easily revealing any incompetence on the part of one teacher.
Design could be fit to the school groups within each district. It would be good to see some districts take this on. If they spent as much effort on even attempting such an analysis as they did on avoiding accountability, they would have an objective model on how to better themselves. But there is no motivation to do this, since the taxpayers are forced to fund such a “service.”
If any of your readers would like more details, including experimental design and analysis ideas, they are welcome to e-mail me at st********@***oo.com.
Alan Viarengo, Gilroy
