Parents Protest Release Of Teacher Reports

By: NY1 News

As the city and several media organizations, including NY1, submitted briefings to the court Friday in order to have thousands of teacher data reports released, some parents in Brooklyn rallied to keep the information private.At a rally at P.S. 321 in Park Slope, parents said the documents are flawed. The reports "grade" teachers using a system that takes into account standardized tests scores, as well as factors affecting student performance.
"Equating education with testing is a bad idea. It's bad for the kids and it's very bad for the teachers,” said one protester. “Good schooling means much more than doing well on a multiple-choice test."
"It's public shaming. It's rooted in thinking about tests and not teaching,” said another. “It makes no sense."
Similar rallies were also held at other schools in the borough.
Early next month, a judge will hear arguments on whether to make the information public.
NY1 was one of the first to petition for the teacher data reports. The Department of Education agreed with making them public, but the teachers union sued to block the release.