Is basing teacher evaluations on 60% subjective measures and up to 40% on students’ test scores a fair compromise? A lot of you didn’t think so and said basing almost half of a teacher’s evaluation on standardized testing can be excessive. I think it sounds good in theory, but it remains to be seen how the deal will exactly play out in classrooms across the City and the State.

The State Department of Education and the teachers union have struck a deal on a new statewide teacher evaluation system. This means the state is still eligible to collect nearly a billion dollars in federal funding.

Governor Cuomo gave both sides until today to reach an agreement, threatening to impose his own evaluation system if they missed the deadline. Under the deal, up to 40 percent of a teacher's rating can be based on student test scores. But, each school district will be able to decide between several different options on how to use that test score data. Teachers will have four potential ratings: ineffective, developing, effective, and highly effective.

The Governor also helped the City and its own teachers union broker a separate, but related deal on how teachers can appeal their poor ratings. UFT President Michael Mulgrew stressed the union isn't agreeing to an entire local teacher-evaluation system, only on the appeals process.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he's satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations, saying it will help improve accountability in the classroom. Governor Cuomo called today’s deal “a major step to actually increase the performance of the education system.” Are you pleased with the deal that was reached? Does this evaluation process seem fair to you? How much should student test scores influence teacher evaluations?

Send your thoughts using the link above.

It seems that where a teacher teaches, poorer school districts versus the more affluent districts will determine their positive or negative evaluations.

Felix
Bay Ridge

What changed? Won’t the same people be doing the evaluations?
All they wanted was the money and they got it by hook or by crook.
Why is it that we still don’t know what happens to the lotto money and
they also raised the price of power ball from $1.00 to $2.00 per ticket.
What type of child will they get? If they get some children that do not
respond or seem like they are not interested in school like not submitting
home work assignments. etc.

Sometimes a few can get lost in the shuffle but I think there is to much
pressure. Anyone can have a bad day but again I say there is just to much
pressure and to much at stake.

Where are all of the monies that the unions donate to these politicians.
Where is all the monies that unions have loaned New York City and State
when they were going under. Have they returned any of it? I don’t think so.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.

Whatever happened in Albany with this Cuomo and his strong arm tactics
is not called for to solve any problem. He just makes sure it goes his way
and if we are having so trouble in our city schools why does he not show
his face to us downstate tax payers.

HEY CUOMO YOU DO REMEMBER US.

SO KNOW WE HAVE BLOOMBERG AND CUOMO LOOKING LIKE THE CAT
THAT ATE THE CANNERY.

WHY DOES IT SEEM AS THOUGH I ALWAYS HAVE MORE QUESTIONS THAN
ANSWERS.

maxxiee
mp

Neither this deal nor any other deal struck between the government and the unions will improve education. The only thing that will improve the quality of education is kicking both the unions and the government out of education.

Joe
Port Richmond, SI

Wouldn't it be just "ducky" if this arrangement works out. I don't think it will as things are more complicated than what appears on the surface. I can say from my years of experience with the Board of Education (DOE) that the best laid plans do not pan out. Time will tell.

Rita
Bayside

As for this agreement, remember that this is not totally set in stone for NYC teachers.
There is still lots of work to be dealt with within the way of NYC teachers.....UFT has only agreed upon an appeals process.

I still ask, how can teacher's be looked upon and rated by student's test scores?
What about a teacher in Kindergarten? Will Kindergarten students be tested now? Do not tell me that!

Teachers are no longer given the ability to be creative in the classroom.
In the 24 years that I have been teaching, I feel that my drive/creativity is slowly fading.
I want to make sure that my students are given the opportunity to love coming to school and be able to have "FUN." Where has that fun gone?

Teachers now have to be worried if they are going to be disrespected and ridiculed by administrators each and every day. Those administrators like to do the "gotcha" game daily. It makes them feel as if they(the administrators) have won the lottery.
Hope to try to chat with you this evening.

FANILOW
FLUSHING

I have been an educator for 12 years. I am in absolute agreement that a stricter teacher evaluation system needs to be in place in order to weed out ineffective teachers. I am also a strong believer in the fact that if there are poor teachers in any given school, it is not the teachers fault, but that of the administrators in that school for not taking the appropriate measures for removing the teacher. With that being said, I think that it is absurd to place 40% of the evaluation on how well students score on standardized tests. When is America going to realize that teachers can not be held accountable for outside influences that may occur to their students? When is America going to stop using teachers as a scapegoat to all of the problems this country is facing? Until money is given equally to all schools across the country and all students are able to have a level playing field, there will be a significant gap in how well students perform on standardized tests, regardless of the teacher. Also, let's not forget that all subjects do not have a standardized test. What about Physical Education teachers and other educators that teach mandatory classes with no standardized tests? How will they be evaluated? Is there subject area less important than any other? I do not know the answers but I do know that a doctor would not be held accountable for not curing every patient or that any other profession would not hold that professional accountable in the same regard that teachers are being held accountable. I am going to sit back and hope for the day that educators are the one's that are asked how to fix education in America. After all, would you go to a plumber to get your car fixed?

Veronica

If a teacher is ineffective, it is the fault of the principal! Principals are the instructional leaders of the schools and yet very few are true educators. Most became principals because they wanted higher salaries and/or could not hack it in the classroom. I currently work in a school where 90% of the students do not speak English at home. Instead of the principal spending funds to give these students the extra help and assistance they need, she is spending money on new reading, math and writing programs that in no way address the needs of these students but do come with pre and post assessments so that she will be able to show "data". With the dawn of Mayor Bloomberg, the entire school system was set up so that nothing can be accurately tracked. I know of a school where only 30% of the student population is reading at grade level and their rating is "B". A school, where 70% of the students read at grade level is rated a "D", simply because the school's average yearly progress is off. Schools with a large population of special education students will close, simply because these students are expected to perform as well as the general population on statewide test. Mayor Bloomberg loves to close schools, simply because the new schools that open are allowed to higher new teachers who have never taught before, keeping the school's budget down. Studies show that class size matters in early childhood classes. My first grade classroom has 29 students all crowded into a space built to hold 20 students. Only 6 of these students speak English at home. I have no life as I attempt to differentiate every lesson and provide coherent conference notes as I try to give each child and each small group of children the attention and individualized instruction they need. We need to go back to having districts with power. As it stands now, no one can accurately track what happens to money given to a school or how well a school is actually doing. Principals have more power than superintendents. What boggles my mind is why teachers are being demonized in the press instead of the real culprits --- principals.

I'm pleased that the State worked something out before losing the chance at all that money. I still question though how teachers of non-testing subjects or grades will be judged if teachers of testing subjects and grades will have up to 40% of their rating based on test scores? It just doesn't seem fair that the science or social studies or gym or music or art teacher, as examples, do not have the same criteria for rating. The PreK thru 2nd grade teacher also. What criteria is going to be used to rate them. This is why I am so against test scores being used in an evaluation of the teacher. I also don't feel that I should be held responsible if on test day, the child in my class comes in to school after seeing his parents fighting or he's hungry or not feeling well. There are so many outside influences that account for a child's test performance. The best teacher can have a kid in class who is just not up to par on test day.

Jessica
Arden Heights

It seems like a decent compromise, though I am personally against testing young children, K-2. Children are still developing at that age, and some more slowly then others. When Teachers are feeling too much pressure to produce results, it trickles down to young children and can do more harm then good.

Barri
Jackson Heights

I am very concerned that the new teacher evaluation will be based up to 40% on test scores. What base line will be used, if any? Test data account for only a small portion of what occurs in the classroom. How will gains in actual writing be gauged? In public speaking and other oral communication skills? Social skills? The classroom is so much larger than just a number! Even the best students at my high school, Brooklyn Tech, do not always do well on standardized tests.

Shelley
Park Slope

Its about time teachers be evaluated. That way we will know the productive and unproductive teachers. The tree needs to be shaken. Teachers complain too much.

Kevin
Sheepshead Bay

Test scores aren't the best way to evaluate due to the changing curriculum. Maybe there should be some more modern ways, since tests wont always be the best thing to use. That doesn't tell you if the teacher is good, it tells you the student may not have even payed attention to an effective teacher. I've seen it happen!

Davon
Springfield Gardens

Tests are a measure of student learning and not teacher effectiveness.There are many reasons that are out of the teacher's control when it comes to student learning that falls on the student

James, Teacher of 22 years
Middle Village

Since the mayor claimed that the "Turnaround Model" for the 33 PLA schools was solely to get the $$$ from the feds, does this now mean that the threatened closing of these 33 schools is off the table as well for the next two years?

John, Assistant Principal
Middle Village

This is a sad day in the N.Y.C. school system. Tenure is ended and we shall now revert back to a system of cronyism, favoritism and bias in removing teachers. Principals will give the most difficult classes to teachers they don't like. Then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The class doesn't do well and the teacher is removed. Teachers can't be evaluated properly until there is discipline in the school. I don't hear anything about the removal of disruptive pupils and the restoration of the 600 school concept.

Teachers are being evaluated by Leadership Academy principals who never taught and a chancellor who needed a waiver to secure his position.

I not only the blame the mayor and chancellor for this disaster, I blame Unity Caucus which has controlled the UFT for over 50 years. They keep giving items up and say it's the best we can do.

Ed
Sheepshead Bay

The achievement gap cannot be close by teachers alone; it can only be closed by viewing education as an opportunity for equity instead on an opportunity for competition.

Haley
Clinton hill

At what point do the pupil readiness and/or willingness get into teacher evaluation? Students have to be ready and able and willing to learn. They also have to be present, not going shopping. Is anyone sampling the parents' attitudes about the necessity of education?

Barbara
Brooklyn Heights

So far students are only tested in ELA & Math. What about teachers of other subject areas? Also what about teachers who teach in inner city schools where students are not motivated to learn?

Maria

Regardless of high performing or low performing schools...it is not fair to judge 40% of a teacher's effectiveness on how student's perform on a single exam. Educators can tell you that high achieving students can bomb on a test and low achievers ace a test...flukes happen. Don't even get me started on the many injustices that occur during scoring of these exams!

It amazes me how no one seems to be addressing the fact that it's still not a level playing field. How do you compare the following to a homeroom teacher: an art teacher; a physical education teacher; a science teacher; a music teacher; Social Studies teacher; Math Specialists outside the classroom; Reading specialists that push-in; School Based Support Teat; Guidance Counselor?

The end all be all of testing in today's world strictly revolves around ELA and Math scores. Everyone outside the ELA/Math "homeroom" trenches is pretty much exempt because they're not directly tied to ELA/Math scores. Incredibly unfair.

I think that the appeals process is seriously is seriously flawed. I envision pressure from the administration being put on principals to get rid of highly paid long term teachers who are entrenched with the union. city hall wants to bust the union and privatize schools, which is the purpose of closing schools and creating charter schools. If the union can only appeal 13% of ineffective ratings, and then only for so-called “harassment” by the principal, older teachers are at serious risk. Blaming teachers for school problems is ridiculous. As one caller said, basing a teacher’s performance on test scores would only be fair if all schools had the same resources, which would only occur in a utopia.

Meryl
Chelsea

Standardized tests, standardized teachers, standardized students, standardized U.S. Empire... ineffective subjects will be terminated by Homeland Security as "suspected terrorists."

Rusty
Greenwich Village

This is one of the saddest days in the history of public education. Teaching will no longer be a career it will be a job. This will satisfy the plutocrats who will privatize education in America.

Jeff
Riverdale

I think that the attendance records of the students should be assessed along side the test scores of the students. If a student has an 80% absentee rate I think that the student should not be allowd to test! Would you want a surgeon to operate on you if she or he only came to the hospital 20% of the year? Really? Again I think that the students need to OCCUPY THE CLASSROOM.

Kathy
Throggs Neck

You can't rate teachers without rating the principles who dictate what and how teachers do their job. The whole system is based on teaching students how to pass tests so they move on to the next level and stop wasting everyone's time with being left back.
That is what the Mayor and Governor want to see. Pass the tests and move on. They're passing students who can't even read or grammatize at the 6th grade level.

Mike

The new teacher evaluation system as was described by your guest is fundamentally unfair. Why should teachers in tested grades have 40% of their evaluation based on test scores where teachers in non-tested grades don't have that burden?

Why would you have a limited number of teacher be able to appeal their evaluations (I believe your guest mentioned 13% can appeal)?That would be like allowing only 13% of people charged with a crime to defend themselves in court and everyone else just has to do time. There needs to be a fair and equal opportunity to have due process.

This also will affect students in schools that need the most help most negatively. Why would anyone want to teach at a school with low performing students when it would be so much easier to teach at a school with high performing students regardless of the effectiveness of the teachers.

As a former teacher, I also think about who is going to monitor administrator bias, especially since there are administrators out there who like to play favorites regardless of the effectiveness of teaching. Some just like their yes men.

Finally, why don't we evaluate Bloomberg's education record over the past 6 or 7 years he's been in office? Together with Joel Klein and the State Ed Dept. they skewed test scores to make it seem students' performance was improving dramatically, and it turned out the test were made easier and it was all a farce.

Fabian
Upper Westside

Keep it simple let the administrators fire 5% at their own discretion.

Charles
Seaport

Rating a teacher based on his/her students' test scores will have no effect on the quality of education. So many factors play into a student's score on a test. For example, how much sleep the kid got the night before, whether or not the child had breakfast, did the student show up to class, both physically and mentally, on a regular basis, did he/she do his homework, study, and so on are all factors in a student's test score.

Caroline
East Elmhurst

I am very disappointed with what's going on in the school system. Why blame the teachers for the student performance. I feel that it's the parents duty to be on top of their childrens education. The teachers are teaching these kids for 45min 5 days a week. obviously there has to be more work at home who the heck knows what goes on in each childs home. Leave these teachers alone.

How do you rate an 8th grade teacher who has a student that reads on a 3rd grade level at the start of the year but reads at a 7th grade level at the end.

Lamyus
Midtown

Teachers must strike!

Alison
Jackson Heights

I'm a graduate student and teacher in a closing school. I don't think today's news marks any catastrophe.

Our students are not treated well by society, and teachers are also not treated well by the NYCDOE. But, I say that partially because even though I'm a teacher, I don't have insurance, don't have a salary, and am Medicade.

I still love education. I hope to make a decent living someday. I hope my students will as well.

Katherine
Inwood

Every call and email point to the same direction: they are MANY other factors is a student's educational life than the teacher. To ignore that is to simply ignore the true issue in education. It is easy to blame the teacher. But its not the teacher's fault. Anyone who agrees with the new evaluation system has absolutely no idea what is really happening in our country.

Elana
Manhattan

Putting too much emphasis on test scores will push teachers to teach to the test. Equating teacher effectiveness with a 3-day testing compromises what education should be. Where's the joy of learning here???

Chie

The education system is officially a sham. If teachers are going to be evaluated by student test scores they should not be forced to use programs that don't work. This is their livelihood, their reputation on the line. Therefore they should be allowed to make the executive decisions in their classroom about what to teach and how to teach it - rather than use programs and materials that have repeatedly proven to be ineffective. (Also, don't be surprised if they start "teaching to the test" - which is exactly what the Bloomberg administration has been trying to move teachers away from)

3 other major problems with using test scores as a tool to evaluate teacher performance:
1- What about primary grade teachers (k, 1, 2) where the students are not tested? Are they "in the clear?" How will they be evaluated? Seems a little unfair....
2- What will happen when the Dept. of Education's own "quality review system" contradicts the test scores? How can a school that is well-developed show little or no increase in student peformance?
3- students aren't learning, and it is not because teachers are ineffective. It's because teachers are forced to do too many other things instead of just TEACHING! Everything is a show- a waste of valuable time. Here's a thought... When teachers can teach, students will learn.
4 - Most teachers go into this profession because they love children, and find joy in working with them, teaching them, and enhancing lives. MONEY HAS NEVER BEEN THE MOTIVATOR FOR A GOOD TEACHER! So let's take that joy from them, make them feel like everything they do is still not enough, and replace them with people who had little or no desire to go into the profession. Really??!!!!

I am officially disgusted by all of it! Discouraged, defeated, and mostly disappointed. Shame on the people who make these decisions. Shame on all of you!

Anonymous

I think finally everyone realizes that the whole education system is a joke and the politicians need someone to blame and they're going after the teachers. They tried blaming the students but that didn't fly. So they're going after the teachers. Fact is the teachers are terrible, most of them are not qualified for the job. But they get licensed and hired. That's where the problems is. If the teachers are a product of the education system you are trying to improve that just not gonna happen. To solve this problem teaching programs have to be taken seriously and funded well. The main motivator is money all around. If the public schools want to compete with the private schools they gonna need to get paid and that's never gonna happen. The city needs failures and that's what they turn out! You can evaluate teachers all you want but it's not gonna make the teachers better. Just more bureaucracy and something in paper so they know where to point the fingers. When you have unqualified teachers you gonna have unqualified students and ultimately employees.

Mike

If the teachers are going to be held responsible, then the parents and students should also be accountable for they part. If a student is pointed out to the parents that they are not up to standards it's up to the parent to get extra help for their child. If they do not then the teacher should not be accountable for that student that did not want to learn. Teachers should only be evaluated in students that came to school to be taught to learn.

Lori