ALBANY - School boards and administrators statewide said Wednesday they are fighting a “nefarious” effort by a powerful teachers union to take student test scores out of the equation in determining whether to grant tenure to a teacher.
The state School Boards Association says standardized test scores are one of several essential measures to determine if a teacher is good enough to be granted tenure, which amounts to a lifetime appointment.
David Little of the New York State School Boards Association claimed teachers unions have mounted “a nefarious attempt to slide this by.”
The measure is part of a massive school aid funding bill in the Legislature and would set parameters for what could be considered when a teacher is granted tenure, usually after three or four years.
The criteria is now set by individual school districts as part of collective bargaining with union locals.
Little said standardized test scores can be an important measure of teacher performance because it can track whether a class is making adequate and steady growth each year.
“We've found instances where kids were actually moving backward,” said Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City school system.
He called the measure “anti-student and anti-parent.”
NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said the measure now in the Senate and Assembly will simply clarify an understanding struck last year with the Legislature and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
All agreed tenure should be based on peer involvement, data analysis and evaluation by adminstrators, he said.
He called the opposition “much ado about nothing.”
Iannuzzi said tests are designed to track student performance and identify their weakness, not evaluate teachers.
“What I'm reading between the lines here,” Iannuzzi said, “is that the chancellor and perhaps the school boards would like is a cheap, quick method for making tenure determinations rather than a strenuous, comprehensive method. That's what applying an inappropriate test does - it's cheap, quick and dirty.”
The union has 585,000 members and is one of Albany's biggest campaign contributors and lobbyists.
So far, the union has made more than $183,000 in campaign contributions between 2006 legislative elections and this election year, according to state records.
The measure is now part of the state budget negotiations. The budget is due April 1.
“We are aware of the concerns that have been raised and the matter continues to be open for discussion,” said Sisa Moyo, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
David Little of the New York State School Boards Association claimed teachers unions have mounted “a nefarious attempt to slide this by.”
The measure is part of a massive school aid funding bill in the Legislature and would set parameters for what could be considered when a teacher is granted tenure, usually after three or four years.
The criteria is now set by individual school districts as part of collective bargaining with union locals.
Little said standardized test scores can be an important measure of teacher performance because it can track whether a class is making adequate and steady growth each year.
“We've found instances where kids were actually moving backward,” said Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City school system.
He called the measure “anti-student and anti-parent.”
NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said the measure now in the Senate and Assembly will simply clarify an understanding struck last year with the Legislature and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
All agreed tenure should be based on peer involvement, data analysis and evaluation by adminstrators, he said.
He called the opposition “much ado about nothing.”
Iannuzzi said tests are designed to track student performance and identify their weakness, not evaluate teachers.
“What I'm reading between the lines here,” Iannuzzi said, “is that the chancellor and perhaps the school boards would like is a cheap, quick method for making tenure determinations rather than a strenuous, comprehensive method. That's what applying an inappropriate test does - it's cheap, quick and dirty.”
The union has 585,000 members and is one of Albany's biggest campaign contributors and lobbyists.
So far, the union has made more than $183,000 in campaign contributions between 2006 legislative elections and this election year, according to state records.
The measure is now part of the state budget negotiations. The budget is due April 1.
“We are aware of the concerns that have been raised and the matter continues to be open for discussion,” said Sisa Moyo, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.