New Study: Ignoring Teacher Performance in Layoffs Hurts Kids

August 10, 2015

Matt Barnum | The 74

Performance trumps seniority when it comes to deciding teacher layoffs — if the goal is to minimize negative effects on student learning.

A new study by Brown University professor Matthew Kraft finds that laying off teachers based on how long they have been in the classroom rather than how effective they are hurts student achievement in math. It’s the first evidence based on actual layoffs that the policy known as LIFO, or “last-in-first-out,” has harmful consequences for students.

A Lesson in Teaching: Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carmen Farina Oversee Significant Staff Turnover at Two Troubled Schools

July 16, 2015

New York Daily News Editorial Board

“Two of the city’s worst-performing schools are on track to get a desperately needed infusion of fresh teaching talent.

Give credit to Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Carmen Fariña and leaders at Automotive and Boys and Girls high schools for taking a crucially important step forward.”

The Tenure Lawsuit Still Matters: Recently Passed Reforms Don’t Change the Fact That it’s Virtually Impossible to Remove an Ineffective Veteran Teacher

May 28, 2015

By Katharine B. Stevens
New York Daily News

“In a little-noticed legal action Wednesday, the state teachers union is once again attempting to toss out the teacher tenure lawsuit launched last July, which argues that New York’s laws protecting educators from termination violate children’s constitutional right to a “sound basic education.””

Delay in the New Teacher Evaluations Can’t be the First Step in a Complete Cave-In

May 26, 2015

The Buffalo News Opinion

“That was fast.

Hardly six weeks after passing a new state budget that included important changes in the teacher evaluation system and aggressive deadlines for imposing them, the Assembly retreated en masse, voting 135-1 to slow it down.”

Assembly Panders to Teachers on Evaluations

May 25, 2015

Newsday Editorial Board

“The bill on education and teacher evaluations passed 135-1 last week by the State Assembly is almost certainly a dead end, but it may have set some sort of speed record. After all, the Assembly, Senate and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had agreed to a new evaluation plan less than two months ago.”

‘Opt-Out’ Becomes Anti-Test Rallying Cry in New York State

May 20, 2015

By Elizabeth A. Harris and Ford Fessenden
The New York Times

“BOICEVILLE, N.Y. — It started with a speech in the fall, to parents who had gathered in the auditorium to learn what to expect during the nascent school year.

“I spoke at the open house and said, ‘We hope you’ll opt out of the tests,’ ” said Heather Roberts, vice president of the Bennett Intermediate School parent teacher association. Last year, 92 percent of eligible students in the Catskill Mountains district that includes Boiceville took their standardized English tests. “Jaws dropped.””

The Importance of Teacher Evaluations

May 17, 2015

By Jenny Sedlis
City & State

“The greatest single factor impacting a student’s ability to learn is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. But right now, parents across the state cannot count on a system that rates 95 percent of teachers across New York state as effective, despite the fact that just a third of public school students are considered proficient in English and math. Something doesn’t add up and something has to change so students across the state get the education they deserve no matter what school they attend. Central to that improvement is developing a better system to assess the educators.”

[VIDEO] Derrell Bradford on Teacher Evaluations

May 16, 2015

By Gerson Borrero
City & State

“As the unresolved battle surrounding the New York State assessment of students’ academic achievement rages, City & State Editor-at-Large Gerson Borrero discusses the issue with Derrell Bradford, Executive Director of the New York Campaign for Achievement Now and a member of High Achievement New York.”

Video Here

“Nation’s Report Card” Reveals Stagnant Student Achievement

April 29, 2015

By Jake Miller
CBS News

“The “nation’s report card” arrived this week, and someone’s getting grounded.

Only 18 percent of 8th-graders were rated “proficient” or “advanced” in their understanding of U.S. history, according to the results of the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Only 27 percent demonstrated a strong grasp of geography. And only 24 percent scored highly on the civics exam.”

Most New Yorkers Say Exam Results Should be Used to Rate Teachers: Poll

April 27, 2015

By Carl Campanile
New York Post

“Two-thirds of New Yorkers say student results on Common Core exams should be used to rate teachers, according to a poll released Monday.

Of the 67 percent of voters who support linking test results to teacher evaluations, 39 percent said the results should count for 25 percent of an educator’s score, 19 percent it should cover half the grade and 9 percent said it should count more than 50 percent, the Sienna College Poll found.”

Partnership for Educational Justice