Mayor Michael Bloomberg is strongly defending the release of performance rankings for New York City teachers based on student test scores.
The mayor said Tuesday that parents have a right to know "every bit of information'' that the city collects about teachers.
He said he found the "arrogance of some people'' who suggested parents don't have the ability to put them the numbers in context "astounding.''
He made the comments during an unrelated event on Coney Island.
The city has released the data for 18,000 teachers and for a smaller number of charter school teachers.
The ratings are based on student performance on statewide standardized tests.
When they released the bulk of the ratings, city Department of Education officials cautioned that the margin of error was wide.