Thursday’s LA Times editorial about the use of student achievement data in teacher evaluations around the country (Bill Gates’ warning on test scores) makes some valuable points about the dangers of rushed, half-baked teacher evaluation schemes that count test scores as more than half of a teacher’s evaluation (as is being done in some states and districts)....

A study released Tuesday by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation showed that the controversial method of measuring teachers’ effectiveness with students’ test scores can be useful, but only when balanced with other factors, such as student feedback and classroom observation. Teachers unions, including UTLA, have long insisted that grading teachers based on their student...

On Wednesday, the Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced $25 million in grants to seven cities where charter schools and districts are working together in new and potentially effective ways.  Though LAUSD was one of the first districts to sign up for the Gates “compact” in December 2010, the district and its charter schools were...