Schools grade themselves in the "Progress Report"

The Department of Education has an invalid measure of school performance. A major part of a school's grade is the highly subjective "Progress Report." This report is composed of evaluations, "Learning Environment Surveys," by students, parents, and teachers, of the schools. When we focus on this last piece we can understand how institutional self-preservation can affect a school grade on its "report card." Teachers can, either through personal interest in preserving the schools' reputation or through the principals interest, color their responses to these surveys.
Teachers report of principals who browbeat teachers during faculty meetings on the teachers' assessment of certain parts of the school.
(Incidentally, the city is also spending untold numbers of dollars on subway ads, exhorting parents to complete and submit the surveys.)
One teacher, "Miss Brave," a blogging second grade teacher, wrote of the pressure at her own school. (Thanks to Philissa Cramer at the Gothamist, "Teachers say the pressure’s on to complete the DOE’s survey," for pointed out her blog.)

Recently, we had a staff meeting about this year's Learning Environment Survey. Apparently, we didn't have high enough participation in last year's survey, so my principal wanted to give us the chance to fill it out on school time. And by "give us the chance," I mean "fill our head with strong suggestions of how to grade our school in order to get Quality Review off our backs."

Seriously, they did everything but stand over us with a #2 pencil and whisper "strongly agree!" in our ears. "Last year, some teachers claimed they didn't have frequent contact with parents, but don't forget, you send home a homework sheet every week!" "Last year, some teachers said we didn't offer a wide enough variety of courses, but don't forget, some of the third grade classes are getting a theater course!" Come on, a homework sheet? That counts as contact with parents? And that "theater course"? Is offered to an extremely limited number of classes, once a week for about six weeks. That's supposed to count? It's like we were scrabbling around for anything we could pat ourselves on the back for.

And then there's the whole Quality Review issue -- apparently, if a school receives a high enough grade on its progress report, it is exempt from Quality Review for two years. (Like, "An A keeps Quality Review away.") The learning environment survey factors into the progress report grade. So there was definitely a strong aroma of "give our school high grades just to exempt us from Quality Review" in the air of the meeting. As in, I actually overheard a teacher at the next table hissing, "Lie! Lie if it'll get Quality Review off our backs!"

Here's the thing. I don't view the survey as an opportunity to get revenge on my school (even though I'm not exactly feeling love for it at the moment). But hello, people, it's called constructive criticism, or, in my world, telling the truth. (A novel concept, apparently.) Do I feel supported by other teachers at my school? Sure! Strongly agree! But do I trust my principal at his word? Absolutely not. Strongly disagree!

I mean, don't we want to instill these values in our students? Am I moving Jonathan to a level G in reading just because it'll make him feel better and it'll make my life easier because I won't have to answer questions from my AP about why he's been an F since November? No, because you can't dress up Jonathan as a G reader and you can't dress up my school as a delightful haven for learning where everyone gets along and no one says nasty things about the principal behind his back.

So what did I do on my survey? I told the truth. My fiance says it's because I have integrity, but I say it's because I'm freaking fed up. I am fed up with being shuffled around like a substitute and with the fact that 75% of what we do is a sham to make us look good for Quality Review and does not actually benefit our students. Like, right now our administration is twisting themselves into knots to make sure that every grade has an inquiry team, because Quality Review decrees it must be so and lo, it must be! Except that in order to ensure that every grade has an inquiry team, we routinely hold inquiry team meetings that pull all the teachers from a grade out of their classrooms, and AIS and ESL teachers are dispatched to cover those classrooms, so the end result is that students are not taught. I mean, doesn't that seem backwards?!

Teachers call for ouster of Queens JHS 8 principal John Murphy

Principals possess near total power. Their assessments of a teachers performance can make or break a career. On the blogs we can read about arcane procedures such as 3020-a proceedings and mysterious "teacher reassignment centers," or "rubber rooms," in vernacular contexts. Prior to reaching those stages at which administrators terminate teachers' careers are the moments when principals harass teachers.
A terrible bind that boards of education create is their assumption that teachers and principals are fully responsible for student violence or inadequate academic performance. The city-level supervisors rate principals by statistics on these matters. This creates great pressure on principals and other administrators to mask student inadequacy or student violence.
The pressure increased on New York City principals in the early 2000s when they agreed to give up tenure in favor of higher salaries. This was a short-sighted choice, for principals in schools with violent students or students that fail to perform MUST suppress any negative statistics, or they will lose their positions.
Principal John Murphy of JHS 8 (Jamaica, Queens)laid out the connection between bad statistics and how the city views when addressing one teacher, "Failures, suspensions and school incidents all play into your school's grade," according to teacher Melissa Weber.

See Clare Trapasso's March 27, 2009 article in the "New York Daily News":
(I have bolded the principal's statements that represent the tip of the iceberg in public education in New York City.)"Teachers call for ouster of principal John Murphy, accused of outburst that sent aide to hospital"

It can't be easy being John Murphy.

Last week, the Middle School 8 principal was accused of a verbal outburst that upset a teacher's aide so badly that she went to the hospital.

This week, teachers protested outside the Jamaica, Queens, school every day calling for his removal.

They accuse Murphy - who many say is abusive to teachers and staff - of intimidating them into inflating grades to boost the school's ratings.

"We were told last year that we could not fail a child under any circumstances," said Melissa Weber, an eighth-grade social studies teacher.

"Failures, suspensions and school incidents all play into your school's grade."

Weber said she found out the hard way how important that was to Murphy after she failed five of her 120 students last year.

"I was called into his office and asked how dare I not follow a directive," Weber recounted. "He explained to me that I had to change them. ... I was afraid that I was going be fired if I didn't."

Weber is one of several teachers who say they were told not to fail students.

Murphy could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Pressuring educators to change grades is a serious offense, said Jay Worona, general counsel for the New York State School Boards Association.

A principal who alters grades to make a school look good can lose his or her administrator's certification and job, he said.

Following the incident with the teacher's aide, city Education Department officials said there were no plans to fire Murphy.

"Under Principal Murphy, [MS] 8 has improved from a D to a B, and the school just came off the state's list of failing schools," said agency spokesman David Cantor.

But the agency is investigating Murphy for the teacher's aide incident and another case - not necessarily for grade inflation - an official said.

Inflating grades isn't the only thing Murphy's been accused of since he came to MS 8 in 2005.

"He's had consistent complaints of harassment, intimidation and demonization of the teachers, parents, students, volunteers," said City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans). He has urged Murphy be removed.

That doesn't surprise William Murray, president of a Connecticut teachers union.

Trouble has followed Murphy since he was principal of Danbury High School - from the summer of 2003 until he resigned in March 2004, said Murray.

"Some people felt that he was intimidating," Murray said. "The whole climate was not pleasant."

Teachers such as Deborah James, an MS 8 special-education instructor, are hoping Murphy resigns again.

"We plan to demonstrate until his removal," James said.

See also Maggie Hickey, WCBS-TV, Channel 2's report on Principal Murphy, "Teachers, Parents Want Queens Principal Ousted: Dr. John Murphy Of Junior High School 8 Accused Of Verbally Abusing Those In His Charge, Acting Like Dictator."