New York City Schools Chancellor Objects to Cuomo’s Plan for Grading Teachers
The New York City schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, spoke out forcefully against some of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s education proposals on Tuesday, making clear the de Blasio administration’s opposition to a core part of the governor’s 2015 agenda.
Mr. Cuomo outlined several major educational initiatives last month that he wants state legislators to adopt in exchange for a $1.1 billion increase in education financing. Charter schools, always a contentious issue in New York City, were at the heart of one proposal. But the idea that may meet the most resistance statewide is his request that 50 percent of a teacher’s annual grade be based on state test results if they teach a tested class.
“I think 50 percent based on tests is too much,” Ms. Fariña told state legislators at a budget hearing on Tuesday, in comments that were echoed by representatives of other large school districts. “We need a human touch any time we evaluate anyone for anything.”
Depending on the district, 20 to 40 percent of a teacher’s grade can be based on how students perform on state tests. Mr. Cuomo has described the current system, under which only about 1 percent of teachers are rated ineffective, as “baloney.
But around the country, parents have massed together in recent years to push back against the growth of high-stakes testing, which spread as states tried to increase accountability in school systems. Any mention of testing in the current climate tends to suck all the oxygen out of a room, but another Cuomo proposal, to have independent observers conduct teacher evaluations, as opposed to the teachers’ own principals, also drew a rebuttal from the chancellor.
Ms. Fariña said that teachers needed to be observed over time, watched for things like whether they engaged with parents or gave special attention to students who needed extra help, and that “flybys” could not replace that.
Asked for comment, the governor’s office stood firm, alluding to the fact that most students have not been passing the state’s new standardized tests.
“What’s clear is that the current system, where 99 percent of teachers are New York City Schools Chancellor Objects to Cuomo’s Plan for Grading Teachers - NYTimes.com: