Brindisi sponsoring legislation to end the state mandate on the use of standardized test results as part of teacher evaluations
Brindisi: “This legislation will help school districts more fairly evaluate their teachers”
Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi announced he is sponsoring legislation (A.10475) to improve New York State’s teacher evaluation system. The bill seeks to end the mandated use of state-created or administered tests from being used to evaluate a teacher or principal’s performance.
“This legislation will help school districts more fairly evaluate their teachers. It allows school districts and teachers to work together and negotiate an effective, fair system of evaluation that more accurately meets the needs of individual communities and their students throughout the state,” Brindisi said.
“In many cases, standardized tests are not an accurate barometer of the performance of the diverse students that live here in the Mohawk Valley. Simply put, the performance of teachers and students alike may not be reflected in test scores. Students can learn in a variety of ways, and this bill reflects that. It puts into place common-sense reforms that will help children grow, while improving our educational system,” Brindisi said.
In addition to removing the mandate that state assessments be used to evaluate a teachers’ or principal’s performance, Brindisi said it also requires the State Commissioner of Education to develop regulations providing alternative assessments for school districts that decide not to use state assessments. The bill also would end the use of the state-provided growth model in evaluating teachers and principals. All teachers would be required to have a student learning objective that is consistent with a goal-setting process developed by the Commissioner of Education.
The legislation also would eliminate the use of certain rules to determine the overall rating of a teacher or principal, and would make permanent provisions prohibiting ELA or math state assessments recorded in grades three through eight from being included on a student’s permanent record.