"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Nineteen NY Legislators Protest Unproven and Damaging Teacher Evaluation Scheme

A clip from a post at Ed in the Apple:

. . . The testing system is deeply flawed.

“Testing and education experts have expressed serious concerns about the validity of the model, pointing to the inability of this methodology to identify the most effective teachers. As an Economic Policy Institute briefing paper mentions, one study found that across five large urban districts, among teachers rated in the top 20% of effectiveness in the first year, less than a third were in the highest rated group the following year, and another third moved all the way down to the bottom 40%.”
Nineteen legislators signed a letter to Governor Cuomo asking that he support legislation to turn the Principal/Teacher Evaluation law into a 3-year pilot program:
The unintended consequences of this model extend beyond the teaching profession. This model creates incentives for an increased focus on test preparation and a corresponding narrowing of the curriculum. “The high-stakes testing model could have a direct, negative impact on the quality of the education our students receive. We must ensure that we do not mistakenly damage the teaching profession and our school system in a flawed attempt to increase accountability,”
Brennan plans to reintroduce legislation to turn the APPR into a three-year pilot program. In this three-year period, the Commissioner would be required to review and evaluate the APPR system and report to the Governor on the validity of the evaluations. High-stakes decisions, such as termination of employment and compensation based on student test data, would be suspended during this time.
The nineteen legislators deserve high praise – the governor has run roughshod over both houses of the legislature with very little opposition.
Hopefully the nineteen will turn into ninety and more.
(Assemblymember James Brennan, Assemblymember 
Steve Englebright, Assemblymember 
William Magnarelli, Assemblymember 
Alan Maisel, Assemblymember 
Joan Millman, Assemblymember 
Amy Paulin, Assemblymember 
Robert Sweeney, Assemblymember 
Matthew Titone, Assemblymember 
Addie Russell, Assemblymember 
Annette Robinson, Assemblymember 
Barbara Lifton, Assemblymember 
Deborah Glick, Assemblymember 
Ellen Jaffee, Assemblymember 
Vanessa Gibson, Assemblymember 
William Magee, Assemblymember 
Linda Rosenthal, Assemblymember 
Margaret Markey, Senator 
Liz Krueger and Senator Velmanette Montgomery)

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