Gov. Cuomo open to delaying teacher evaluations

Education

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 10:38 PM

JR/New York Daily News Sarah Pomar shows her stance against Common Core testing at a rally Tuesday in front of PS 69 in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Gov. Cuomo said for the first time Tuesday he will consider delaying the use of new curriculum test results when evaluating teachers.

“We have to deal with the issue of the effect of Common Core testing on teacher evaluations,” Cuomo said.

The new state budget enacted Monday delays for two years placing the test scores on student transcripts or using them as a major factor in grade promotion decisions.

But the budget — at Cuomo’s insistence — left in place the use of the tests to evaluate teachers.

Aaron Showalter/New York Daily News The new state budget enacted Monday delays for two years placing the standardized test scores on student transcripts or using them as a major factor in grade promotion decisions. The tests will still be used to evaluate teachers, although Gov. Cuomo wants to consider changing that practice.

Cuomo now wants to consider changing that practice.

“If you say Common Core testing was premature for students and you just halted the grades on the transcript, then what is your opinion about the impact of Common Core testing on teachers’ evaluation and what should be done?” Cuomo said. “That is an issue that we have not addressed and we need to address before the end of the session.”

Cuomo said he supports the tougher standards embodied in Common Core, but criticized the way they were rolled out.

Mike Groll/AP Gov. Cuomo on Tuesday said he will consider delaying the use of Common Core test results when evaluating teachers. This was the first time he showed he was open to the delay. Susan Watts/New York Daily News Michael Mulgrew, president of the city teachers union, has pushed for delaying the use of Common Core test results to evaluate the performance of teachers. Last year, teachers complained they hadn’t been fully trained how to teach the new Common Core standards — and that many didn’t receive textbooks and teaching materials for the exams until well into the school year.

Previous Next

Enlarge

But until Tuesday, Cuomo had vehemently argued that students’ results on the tests should be considered in evaluating teachers.

Legislative insiders say Cuomo wanted to leave any change in use of the tests to evaluate teachers out of the budget because he wants to negotiate the issue after the upcoming state teachers union elections.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the city teachers union, has pushed for a delay.

“It’s the Common Core vs. common sense,” Mulgrew said in a statement Tuesday. “How can you say that students should not be evaluated on the basis of Common Core test results but their teachers should?”

Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News

http://ift.tt/1pIaXlJ

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1