New York State's Meaningless Concessions Throw Out the Only Tests Worth Keeping

In New York, the teacher evaluation formula is based on 20 percent state mandated tests, 60 percent observation, and 20 percent local assessments.  While canceling nary a state test or any of the planned implementation of the Corporate Core, the New York Board of Regents and their new panel of CorpEd advocates have have come up with a plan to shove local systems into dumping their own local assessments in favor of, what?  Will state tests now count 40 percent of a teacher's evaluation instead of 20 if local assessments are jettisoned?  From the Press Release February 10:

Increasing flexibility for districts to reduce local testing used to inform teacher evaluation

Creating an expedited review process for districts that propose to amend their teacher evaluation plans to reduce local testing

Eliminating local traditional standardized tests for K-2 used to inform teacher evaluations (The State does not administer traditional standardized tests in K-2.)

Capping at 1% the instructional time that can be used for local assessments     used to inform teacher evaluations (The federally required State assessments in grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics account for less than 1% of instructional time.)

In making this move, King and his band of corporate fools can try to pretend that localities are responsible for the non-stop testing in the state that now has citizens up in arms.  At the same time, they take away any local autonomy in the kind of assessment used to evaluate teachers.

Oh, the other big news:  approval a half-billion for Corporate Core professional development.

$525 million Core Instructional Development Fund aimed at providing increased professional development for Common Core implementation

Wonder if Pearson or McGraw-Hill will get most of this cash? 

NY Parents Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take It Anymore

Well it's about time. NY parents are finally raging against the Common Core and the  punitive high stakes testing that labels their children failures. Has this insanity finally reached a tipping point? Stay tuned.

Watch the video coming out of this meeting last night and share it widely. 

"They also criticized the increased student testing and teacher evaluations associated with Common Core." 

It's time for parents all across the country to stand up for their children and their children's teachers. It's time to end this "reign of error" and terror in education and get back to real, authentic, meaningful learning. 

The reporting on the story is hitting the local tv networks this morning and the video of the meeting needs to go viral.

As Bruce Springsteen says, "Come on rise up!"

From New 4 New York:

Angry Parents Meet With NY Education Commissioner on Common Core

Critics say the new Common Core curriculum has been too much, too fast

Hundreds of frustrated parents, teachers and administrators gathered at a community forum on Long Island Tuesday to complain about the new controversial curriculum called Common Core.

Parents, teachers and administrators packed the auditorium at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket Tuesday to vent, saying the state's effort to raise standards has been dropped on their children too abruptly. They also criticized the Increased student testing and teacher evaluations associated with Common Core. 

Lana Ajemian, the head of New York's Parent-Teacher Association, said, "It's like the train's pulling out of the station without everybody on board." 

Ajemian says her 300,000 members are launching a campaign demanding less testing and a slower pace of change for teachers and students like fourth-grader Franklin Noonan. 

"We're learning harder problems," the 9-year-old Noonan told NBC 4 New York. "It makes me a little stressed 'cause I really want to get those right." 

Other children have struggled even more. Parent Ali Gordon said her 10-year-old daughter asked her what it would take to be able stay home from school forever.

"Not tomorrow, not next week. Forever. She said, 'I'm too stupid to do this math,'" said Gordon. 

State Sen. John Flanagan of Suffolk, who heads the Senate's Education Committee, says he expects changes to Common Core, calling it "well-intentioned but very poorly executed."