Rigorous system for state aims to start in 2012-13
By Mary B. Pasciak and Tom Precious
(From The Buffalo News, February 17th, 2012)
Every teacher in the state soon will be evaluated under a more rigorous system designed to more closely link teacher ratings to student growth on assessments and to reliable classroom observations.
The new state requirements for teacher evaluations, announced Thursday, are intended to more accurately evaluate teachers, provide support for those deemed ineffective and hold up those considered effective as role models. A teacher rated ineffective two years in a row could face termination proceedings.
The governor, state education commissioner and president of New York State United Teachers announced the agreement, which applies to all teachers in the state as of the 2012-13 school year.
During a news conference in Albany, the three men said the agreement would position New York as a leader among other states in the federally driven effort to tie teacher evaluations to student achievement.
“Teachers who are doing well should be rewarded. Teachers who need assistance should get the assistance,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said. “This [is] not a punitive system. This is a performance management system.”
Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. said, “This is not about firing teachers. It’s about ensuring a rigorous system of performance management so our students can succeed.”
The deal tightens provisions in a 2010 teacher evaluation system that last year was put on hold after the state Board of Regents, bowing to a Cuomo plan, changed the terms of that law. The Regents’ regulations were then taken to court by NYSUT.