UFT files new appeal to stop TDRs

The UFT will go directly to the state’s highest court in an effort to prevent the public release of the city Department of Education’s Teacher Data Reports, a move made necessary when the union’s efforts to keep the widely discredited reports private were not successful before the lower courts.

“Given the harm that could be done by the release of these misleading and inaccurate reports, we will be filing a motion directly with the New York State Court of Appeals seeking leave to appeal the Appellate Division’s decision,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

On Aug. 25, the judges of the Appellate Division, supporting a lower court decision, ordered that the reports could be handed over to city media and newspapers. The UFT went back to the Appellate Division to seek leave to appeal that decision, but the appellate court on Nov. 15 refused to grant leave to appeal.  Now the UFT can go to the Court of Appeals itself.  Meanwhile, a “stay” remains in effect, meaning for now no action will be taken to release the reports while the appeals process continues.

The Teacher Data Reports use an experimental “value-added” formula to evaluate and rank English language arts and math teachers in grades 3-8 based on their students’ test scores. City media demanded that the DOE release reports for the 2008-09 school year under the Freedom of Information Act. Despite a written promise to the UFT to keep them private, the DOE was ready to hand over the reports to the four newspapers and one TV station that had requested them.

The litigation around the current report continues, even though last month the DOE announced that it would stop producing future data reports altogether and turn that evaluation function over to the state. That decision came after principals, parents and researchers all disputed the fairness and accuracy of the city’s reports.

In November, a brief by the influential Center for American Progress, citing the New York case, warned that publicly identifying teachers with value-added estimates “will actually undermine efforts to improve public schools.”