PARLIER – According to data from the California Department of Education (CDE), a statewide tool that’s used to keep an eye on what teachers are assigning has found that classroom assignments at Parlier Unified School District are a little mixed – but not in a bad way.
From the account of Corey Greenlaw, the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Innovation and Support to the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, the goal of TAMO is simple.
“Are teachers teaching subjects they were trained to teach?” he said. He said the data proves students learn more from teachers who are teaching their educational focus. A teacher who received a single-subject in math may be able to teach English, but ultimately, a teacher who received their credential in English is a better instructor.
“Which means a teacher who has completed their credential – a Clear credential – is the best teacher to teach that subject, be it special education or English or math,” said Greenlaw.
In 2019, the California Assembly passed Assembly Bill 1219, which required the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to develop an electronic teacher assignment monitoring system. According to the CDE website, the purpose of the monitoring system was to ensure that school assignments, as designed by teachers, met state standards with respect to accuracy, intent, relevance, etc., as determined by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
The CDE and the CTC shared data regarding assignments. This data provides the basis for TAMO.
TAMO for Parlier Unified
At first blush, TAMO data would indicate its teachers, not assignments, that have been rated. This is not the case. TAMO differentiates the ranking of the assignments based on the educational or experience level of the teachers who created and assigned them. The TAMO data for PUSD was presented at a recent board meeting by Kathi Felder-Guerrero, PUSD’s Executive Director of Services.
Local educational agencies (LEAs) – school districts – such as PUSD are required to submit the data to their respective school boards at the next regularly scheduled school board meeting to take place following the release of the data, which was released by the CDE on July 15, 2024. With respect to PUSD, this meeting occurred Aug. 6, 2024.
The data, identified in the presentation as “Local Indicator Updates – Teacher Assignments,” is broken out into eight categories. The categories include: total teaching Full-Time Equivalent (FTE), Clear, Out-of-Field, Intern, Ineffective, Incomplete, Unknown and Non-Applicable (N/A).
There were 13 subject areas addressed by the assessment. Assignments for each of the subject areas fell into one of those eight categories.
For example, in the results, a score of “10.5” is listed under the FTE category for mathematics. This number means PUSD has 10.5 full-time teachers in its eight schools. This doesn’t mean there’s a half-body teacher but, rather, teachers who work full-time are counted as 1.0 under the category; employees who work less, such as a half-time, are counted as .50. Thus, PUSD has 11 teachers in its employment, but with their combined qualifications and experience, they score as a 10.5 through TAMO.
A teacher who is working one-third of the time is considered a “.33,” and so on.
On its own, the FTE category has ramifications for all other seven categories. For example, under the Clear category in the data, mathematics received 66.7%. This means 66.7% of math assignments in PUSD were assigned by fully credentialed teachers in the district.
Next to Clear is the Out-of-Field category; and, according to the data, 10% of math assignments were created or authorized by an individual who doesn’t possess a single-subject teaching credential for mathematics. This could mean the assignments were given by a teacher who has a General Education Limited Assignment Permit (GELAP), a Special Education Limited Assignment Permit (SELAP), short-term waivers, emergency English learner or bilingual authorization permits, or local assignment options.
It should be noted that assignments from an educator other than a fully credentialed teacher is not inherently flawed; it just means these assignments were created by teachers who are either in the process of earning a credential, or who lack a teaching credential in the specific subject area.
It should also be noted that CDE allows individuals who are in the process of earning a single-subject teaching credential to be hired, given that the individuals complete their credential within one year of being hired.
As for the Ineffective category, the TAMO reported that PUSD had zero ineffective math assignments. Unlike the standard definition of ineffective, what this statistic means is all of the math assignments were created by a fully-credentialed teacher.
The career technical education (CTE) subject area had over 74% of its assignments deemed ineffective. Again, this does not mean the assignments were inherently ineffective. As Felder-Guerrero explained to the board, an ineffective classification does not necessarily mean a teacher is inept or the assignment is not up to standards; rather, CTE instructors do not come from traditional credential programs, such as the California State University system. These instructors may have earned their teaching bona fides through CTE or through the Valley Regional Occupation Program (VROP).
As for the incomplete category, this means information about the assignments, as reported by the LEA to the state, have missing or incomplete data. And the Intern category signifies the teacher who created the assignment holds a bachelor’s degree and has demonstrated competency in the subject area – these individuals are currently working on obtaining a preliminary credential.
Compared to FUSD and the State
For the sake of comparison, Felder-Guerrero’s presentation included TAMO covering the same categories from the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) and from data gathered statewide.
Compared to FUSD and the state, PUSD’s data is a mixed bag. For instance, both the state and FUSD have a higher percentage of assignments assigned by teachers with Clear credentials than PUSD. However, PUSD has a lower percentage of assignments originating with teachers working outside of their fields.
PUSD has more assignments from teachers interning at the district and has a higher percentage of assignments designated ineffective, but the district has a lower percentage of assignments issued by instructors with Incomplete credentials compared to the state’s and FUSD’s numbers.
PUSD’s historical TAMO data also reveals mixed results. The data covers 2020 through 2023. For the 2022-23 school year, PUSD had 155 FTE teachers, compared to 146 for the 2020-21 school year. But that year boasted the highest percentage – over 84% – of instructors with clear credentials, compared to just under 81% for 2022-23.
The most noteworthy column has to do with assignments designated Ineffective. For 2020-21, 2.7% of PUSD’s assignments were deemed ineffective; by 2022-23, this percentage increased to 10.2%.
As mentioned earlier, the ineffective column includes assignments assigned by teachers who obtained their credentials outside of normal channels. As such, they are considered non-traditional teachers. According to the last page of Felder-Guerrero’s presentation, PUSD “continue(s) to monitor these and ensure they are assigned to the correct credential.”
