CSJ-11-0040.0 This case goes behind the scenes to examine the thinking at the Los Angeles Times about a 2010 project to rank public elementary school teachers of English and math. It follows editors and reporters as they seek access to existing Los Angeles Unified School District student-test data, and then decide whether and how to analyze it (they hire a Rand Corp. expert) to reveal teacher effectiveness. The most important question is accountability: should the paper name individual teachers when it publishes the scores? The team that has worked on the project for a year decides that the paper must name names: not to do so would be irresponsible and constitute a failure to inform the public. But two members of the website staff object, late in the process, to identifying individuals. Their objections give Assistant Managing Editor David Lauter pause. Had the team considered sufficiently the likely public reaction? Had the paper prepared an explanation of its reasoning? Was it correct to name the teachers?

Students will learn about education reporting. They can discuss the trade-offs between holding publicly-financed officials accountable and protecting individual privacy. They will have a chance to debate the value of data, and especially data generated by a news organization itself (rather than reporting on an existing study). What are the benefits of undertaking independent analysis, and at what cost? The case opens a window into the complexity of databases, the politics that underlie the use of data, and the challenges of informing readers not only about results but about the methodology behind the numbers. Students can discuss whether it is the role of news organizations to commission such analysis if public institutions fail to do so, or whether it is best left to the experts.

This case can be used in a course about education reporting; public service journalism; data journalism; or editorial decisionmaking.

Credits

This case was written by Alice Irene Pifer for the Knight Case Studies Initiative, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University. The case sponsor was Professor LynNell Hancock. Funding was provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. (0811)

For further information:

E-mail: ccnmtl+casestudies@columbia.edu

Website: https://casestudies.ccnmtl.columbia.edu