Friday, December 3, 2010

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: SENIORITY RULES, BUT DO STUDENTS LOSE?

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: SENIORITY RULES, BUT DO STUDENTS LOSE?

SENIORITY RULES, BUT DO STUDENTS LOSE?

2centssmf: the LA Times is about to drop another shoe in its school reform jihad in Sunday's print edition. This is the first round in that next mixed-metaphorical attack: this time on teacher seniority / longevity / experience / educational attainment.

Once upon a time there were two newspapers in this town:

  • one had a database of student test scores sorted by who their teacher was that was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and used it to evaluate teacher performance.
  • the other had a database of teachers and their salaries, also obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
  • What if we were to compare the two, crunch the numbers and determine return-on-salary-investment by teachers? Would
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