Three Questions For Cuomo: Part 1 (About Teacher Evals)

So I was all ready to go this anti-testing forum out on Long Island and my dog got sick. Like real sick. A last minute trip to the veterinarian (and $400 later!) and I'm left with a few empty hours. So while education policy is on my mind, and while I have the time, I'm sharing the first of a two part piece about Cuomo's education proposals for this year's NYS budget.

I'm not going to tow the union or the activist line here. Instead, I'm going to try to lay out as many facts as possible, then ask three genuine, legitimate questions.

My next post will focus on asking three questions about his plan for tenure. But this post is about his [planned change to the teacher evaluation system throughout the state. Particularly, I'm interested in the changes he is proposing to test scores.


Dispelling with our first myth ...

Cuomo's plan to change tests from 40% - 50% is just a negotiating tactic. I don't believe he truly wants the tests to count for half. My belief is that he wants the tests to count for 40% -just as they do now- but for the state exams to count for all 40% of that score. Currently, some schools offer different tests to count for the local portion of the evaluation (what's called the Measures of Student Learning) but the vast majority of schools have selected the method where state tests are simply analyzed a different way. Be it better or worse, the fact is that state tests already count for 40% of many our evaluations. They just examine the 'numbers' in a different way. Although this may be a surprise to many friends reading, the sad truth is that, if you accept that his "50%" position is just a negotiation ploy (and that he really wants to settle at a 40% number), his proposal really isn't anything new at all. It's just
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