Roger Williams has taught ESL on the college level on Guam and in Iran, remedial reading in a high school near the Navajo reservation and, for 33 years, middle school English in Richfield. Retired, he’s now a literacy tutor in … Continue reading»

What strikes me about the debate over value-added teacher assessment is how much it seems to center on what is fair to teachers, rather than what is best for students. I would be more sympathetic to the arguments against using … Continue reading»

I recently heard from Heidi Haggard, a former elementary school teacher, who shared the following insight about value-added teacher assessments: “I appreciate the Deseret News articles you have written on value-added teacher assessments. As a former elementary school teacher (I’m … Continue reading»

The impetus to adopt value-added assessment notwithstanding, critics of this approach make some good points. On a year-to-year basis the data can fluctuate widely. As the labor union-supported Economic Policy Institute reports, “One study found that across five large urban … Continue reading»

Here in Utah, the State Office of Education has compiled the data it would need for value-added analysis, but it is not publishing this information, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, “because of the cost involved in purchasing an expanded … Continue reading»

In August of last year the Los Angeles Times threw a firebomb into the educational reform debate. As statisticians, educators and government officials continued to dispute over the merits of “value-added” teacher assessments in policy journals and administrative offices, the … Continue reading»

The Deseret News welcomes further comments on the topic of math education, but we will also be moving on to our next blog issue: value-added assessment. That’s a formal name for a very controversial idea. Almost everyone agrees that of … Continue reading»

Paul Maloy responded to my request for longer comments with the perspective of a businessman turned teacher: “My wife has been a high school resource aid for much of the last seven years. I am in my sixth year as … Continue reading»

Milo Wright of Salt Lake City is a retired industrial analyst (Boeing Corporation), who holds a master’s degree in analytical chemistry. His wife has a master’s in elementary curriculum. He asserts that: “The public schools in the United States are … Continue reading»

Leland Anderson is an assistant principal and Director of Distance Education at American Heritage School and Family Education Center in American Fork, Utah, and holds degrees from Harvard and Brigham Young University. He calls on the adults in students’ lives … Continue reading»