U.S. schools chief backs off on publication of teacher ratings
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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has tempered his initial enthusiasm for publishing teacher effectiveness ratings based on test scores.
Last summer, after the Los Angeles Times published "value added" ratings of 6,000 elementary school teachers on a scale ranging from "least effective" to "most effective," Duncan applauded the paper for its action.
"What's there to hide?" Duncan said, as reported in an article headlined "U.S. schools chief endorses release of teacher data."
"In education, we've been scared to talk about success," he was quoted as saying.
But since then, he has gone out of his way to say that teacher effectiveness ratings should be based on far more
Senators want audit of school construction oversight failures
Deanne Fitzmaurice/California Watch
Key members of the state Senate have asked for an audit of the office that oversees public school construction in response to a recent California Watch investigation that found systemic failures in the way earthquake safety laws are enforced.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, Alan Lowenthal, Loni Hancock, Julia Brownley and Michael Rubio are asking the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to launch an investigation of the Division of the State Architect, according to an April 25 letter.
The four-page letter, sent to audit committee chairman Ricardo Luna, asks for a two-part probe of the state architect's office focusing first on potential safety threats and next on the way the division carries out its work.