E4E member Susan Keyock had her letter to the editor of the NYT published – one of the few non-dopey letters on this topic that the NYT has published:

Measuring the Value of Good Teachers

Published: January 16, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/opinion/measuring-the-value-of-good-teachers.html

To the Editor:

Re "Big Study Links Good Teachers to Lasting Gain" (front page, Jan. 6):

This study reiterates what others have found before it: teacher effectiveness, which can be partly evaluated using test score data, has the power to affect the futures of innumerable students, for better or worse. Real reform in education can be realized only when this fact is acknowledged by teachers who stand up and demand to be fairly evaluated by multiple measures, with one of those measures being test score data.

Having taught for 12 years in high-need urban areas, I have been a first-hand witness to the effects of teacher quality. Students need and deserve to have teachers who are constantly improving their craft. Neglecting to do so has too high a price tag.

The fair use of test score data is one crucial step to assuring a brighter future for our youth.

SUSAN KEYOCK
Astoria, Queens, Jan. 8, 2012