To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

On Tuesday, a four-judge panel at the Appellate Court heard the arguments over whether the public should be able to see teachers' performance scores.

"The public, I believe, doesn't need to have stuff that's misleading and inaccurate," said Charles Moerdler, an attorney for the teachers' union.

The city has been scoring fourth- through eighth-grade English and Math teachers for three years. It considers how much students improve on tests while in that teacher's class. Only the teacher, school principal and education officials see those numbers..

Last autumn, NY1 asked for the 12,000 scores by name, citing the Freedom of Information Law. The city said it would give them to the news station and four newspapers, but the teachers union sued, saying the data is private, and in many cases, inaccurate.

In January, the State Supreme Court approved the release. The decision said job performance statistics about public employees are public information.

The union immediately appealed.

"It's not unusual for smart people to make mistakes. That's why they have erasers on pencils," said Moerdler.

There are two legal questions. First, are these scores statistics? Statistics can be released, but not evaluations that rely on somebody's opinion.

"If it's a statistic, the public gets it," said Dave Schulz, an attorney for the media organizations.

"If you have accurate information, go ahead. But where it's wrong, and you know it's wrong, then you aren't doing a public service," said Moerdler.

Second, do teachers have the right to privacy that would keep their names from being released along with their score?

"Without the names, you can't track teachers over time. You can't hold administrators accountable to see what they do with poor performing teachers," said Schulz.

Lawyers for both sides reminded the judges that this is a case with major implications. Not just for how much the public knows about teachers here, but also for school districts across the country that have started to produce similar teacher report cards.

It is a case educators and policymakers are following closely, but probably not as closely as the 12,000 teachers whose names and numbers hang in the balance.