The Good News About New York Students’ Low Test Scores

July 20, 2015

By Erik Engquist | Crain’s New York

“It’s inevitable: When New York’s standardized test scores are discussed, everyone focuses on the portion of students achieving proficiency. And, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo often points out, that number is under 40%.

“Thirty-one percent of third to eighth graders are proficient in English, but 99% of the teachers are rated effective; 35% of third to eighth graders are proficient in math but 98% of the math teachers are rated effective,” Mr. Cuomo boomed in his state of the state address in January. “Who are we kidding, my friends?””

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.”

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.””

61 Years After Brown v. Board of Education, Many Schools Remain Separate and Unequal

May 18, 2015

By Rebecca Klein
Huffington Post Education

“Decades after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling declared segregated schooling of black students unconstitutional, many American schools with high minority populations continue to receive fewer resources and provide an education that’s inferior to schools with large white populations.”

Op-Ed: Freddie Gray’s Rough Baltimore Streets Shaped my Fight for School Choice

April 29, 2015

By Derrell Bradford
Hechinger Report

“Fire is a gift from the gods, but it’s still hard to watch your neighborhood burn.
There was no CVS on the corner of Pennsylvania and North Avenues in West Baltimore — or Penn North as folks from the area call it — but I know the corner like the back of my hand.”

Partnership for Educational Justice