Last night, I posted that New York Regent Roger Tilles had told an audience of educators in Port Jefferson, Long Island, that he opposes test-based evaluations of teachers and principals. What a remarkable reversal, I wrote. His statement led many, including me, to assume that he would vote “no” when the Regents consider the Cuomo plan to evaluate educators by test scores on September 16. His declaration was unequivocal.
I was wrong.
This morning I heard from reliable sources that Regent Tilles intends to vote yes. He is personally opposed to test-based evaluation, but he intends to vote to to impose it on every public school in New York state. Despite what he said, he will vote yes. Despite the massive opt outs in the region he represents, despite the respected superintendents in his region who have spoken out against test-based evaluation (as Tilles did), he still intends to approve the governor’s plan. His logic apparently is that while he is opposed to test-based evaluation, he must support the law that was pushed through hurriedly in the middle of the night last spring. He also believes that superintendents in Long Island support the governor’s plan. I hope he has read this analysis of the law, which shows why he and other Regents should vote against it.
When you speak to Regent Tilles, don’t ask if he opposes test-based evaluation. The answer will be yes. Ask him if he will vote to oppose the governor’s test-based evaluation plan. The answer will be no.
If you live in Long Island, please let him know what you think.
Fortunately, there are six brave, thoughtful, and honorable Regents who are prepared to vote NO. All six are experienced educators. They know that the governor’s plan will demoralize teachers and worsen teacher shortages, especially in schools that educate the lowest-scoring students, that is, Black and Hispanic children in urban districts, children with disabilities, and English language learners.
If three Regents change their votes, the ill-considered and harmful law will go back to the legislature for deliberation and revision.
The three likeliest to flip their votes are Roger Tilles, Josephine Finn, and Lester Young. The last two are African Americans, and they surely know that the governor’s plan will compel teachers in New York’s most segregated schools to double down on test prep and to cheat the children of the arts, physical education, science, history, geography, civics, and everything else that is not tested.
You will find the emails here for all the Regents. Please let them know what you think.
Charles Bendit
Anthony Bottar
Andrew Brown
Christine Cea
James Cottrell
Josephine Finn
Wade Norwood
James Tallon
Merryl Tisch
Roger Tilles
Lester Young
Here are the Regents who voted NO last time. Please thank them for standing up for common sense, good education, the rights of children, and the dignity of the teaching profession:
Kathleen Cashin
Judith Chin
Catherine Collins
Judith Johnson
Beverly Ouderkirk
Betty Rosa
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Andrew ‘I am the government’ Cuomo
Unethical and antithetical government.
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cross posted, at
with this comment which has embedded links to posts that appeared at this site.
At the annual meeting of Pennsylvania AFT, the leaders of the union called on the legislature to eliminate the test-based teacher evaluation system. so should NEW York, but our governor wants it so he can label teachers as failures, kick them out, so the school will fail and be replaced by charters. The big money hedge funds love the private schools.
The Journal News of the Lower Hudson Valley wrote an editorial explaining the genesis of the testing madness that has gripped the nation for at least 15 years.
“First came No Child Left Behind, then Race to the Top, destroying education by a mammoth obsession with test scores.Andrew Cuomo used federal policy to lash out at teachers’ unions.
Alan Singer attended a conference in Madrid, where he delivered a paper called “Hacking Away at the Pearson Octopus.” He writes that the movement to break Pearson’s stranglehold on education is indeed global.
Stuart S. Yen, a professor at the University of Minnesota, contends in this article in the TC Record that value-added-modeling is neither valid nor reliable.
Arthur Goldstein teaches English as a Second Language students at Frances Lewis High School in Queens, New York. He blogs as NYC Educator. In his letter, Goldstein refers to a meeting that Chancellor Farina had with a local superintendent, where she recognized that highly rated teachers were likely to get lower ratings in high-poverty schools. The blogger Perdido Street School wrote: “The dirty secret of education reform is that the problems in schools and districts with high poverty/high homelessness demographics are NOT caused by “bad teachers” – they’re caused by all the effects that poverty has on the psychological, emotional, physical and social development of the children in those schools and districts.”
Bruce Lederman Explains the Challenge to New York State Teacher Evaluation System. Ravitch is attaching the reply memorandum of law which explains in detail the evidence and expert opinions in the case, as well as the legal arguments at issue.
Gerri K. Songer Explains Why Common Core Tests Are Actually Harmful to Students
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Sorry, the link at oped , where you can go to my comment and click to the liniks of Diane’s posts that explain the commentary re the testing insanity.
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Attention-New-York-Parent-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Attention_Education_HOPE_Law-150903-318.html
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“. . . despite the respected superintendents in his region who have spoken out against test-based evaluation (as Tilles did), he still intends to approve the governor’s plan. His logic apparently is that while he is opposed to test-based evaluation, he must support the law that was pushed through hurriedly in the middle of the night last spring. He also believes that superintendents in Long Island support the governor’s plan.”
So Tilles says one thing and does another. Sounds rather typical for political positions like his and superintendents of districts. The supes have spoken and written against these educational malpractices but have they actually done anything about them? Have they stood up and refused to have their districts waste so much time, energy and money, but more importantly valuable time that students could be learning in enriched environments instead of test prep ones?? No, they haven’t. Until they do I consider them in the same boat as Tilles, all talk and no walk, or how’s the saying go in Texas, all hat but no cattle!!
No wonder Tilles “believes that the superintendents in Long Island support the governor’s plan”, they have done anything concrete to disabuse Tilles that they don’t support it because they’ve been putting that “plan” in place with a few well timed peeps (meant to cover their own arses). Those supes are as cojoneless, weak willed lilly livered shirkers as Tilles.
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Lester Young is the son of the late jazz great, Lester Young, Sr. Hopefully he can understand the impact on the arts this testing nonsense can have.
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In light of this recent comment by Gov. Cuomo, all the Regents should vote a RESOUNDING NO on September 16:
http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/240620/cuomo-says-common-core-program-not-working-wants-reform-proposals/
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“In a back-to-school statement, Gov. Andrew Cuomo deepens his criticism of the State Education Department’s rollout of the Common Core standard by stating flatly that the program “is not working, and must be fixed.”
“To that end, the time has come for a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Common Core Standards, curriculum, guidance and tests in order to address local concerns,” he continues. “I am taking this action not because I don’t believe in standards, but because I do.”
Cuomo will ask “a representative group” from his previous Education Reform Commission — including “education experts, teachers, parents, the Commissioner of Education and legislative representatives” — to offer up recommendations for the governor to put on the agenda for the 2016 legislative session.”
It’s the same in Ohio. They got so much political blowback they’re pretending to reform the reforms. It’s complete chaos. I’m sure public schools will soldier on regardless of high-level ed reform machinations. They seem to be very resilient and “gritty” 🙂
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It’s interesting that all of those who voted “No” are women, but the vast majority (8 out of the 11) of those who voted “yes’ are men.
Coincidence?
I think not.
More evidence that Jerry Garcia was right: Women are smarter.
Most of them, at least, with a few exceptions in this case: Christine Cea,
Josephine Finn and Merryl Tisch.
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You got that right… women think things out….evolution put them in charge of little, helpless, critters who cannot communicate well for many years, and thus, those women who could figure things out by looking ahead, had kids who survived and brought forth issue.
If you have never read Elaine Morgan’s “The Descent of Women,” now is the time… so amusing but right on the nose, a scientific theory that explains why you are so Dam right!
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Susan,
I think this is actually very telling.
And it’s not limited to the NY Regents’
hardly.
The whole “reform” movement was concocted and is now being run by men.
And not just by any men. By the sort of men who make a point of saying things like “No one gives a shit what you feel or think” and “‘White suburban moms’ [are] upset that Common Core shows their kids aren’t ‘brilliant’”
These statements might be dismissed as meaningless off the cuff remarks if not for the context. They were made by men who have put in place a test and punish regime that largely targets women and children — with little or no empathy for those it affects.
As Harvard’s John Friedman said “Better to fire them [mainly women] sooner rather than later”
These guys (and they are almost all guys) are the worst sort of cowards, targeting those whom they perceive to be least able to fight back.
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You definitely nailed it. Most women are the ones involved in their child’s education ( not saying all men are not- so don’t jump done my throat) . Also there are more female teachers at the elementary level then men( just look at any school) also how many of these lawmakers ever taught on the elementary school level?
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As a Deadhead, Bob Weir sang the line but the women are smarter, that’s right, that’s right.
Well played with linking Diane and the Dead!
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Roger Tilles is an example of a person who is torn between doing the right thing by the people of New York, but is also torn by, and beholden to the corporate interests that “influence” him. I would call for an inquiry into his ethics, and begin with his finances…there is no other way to try to understand why his words to the public say no to the Cuomo test-based evaluation nightmare, yet his pen quietly says yes.
Saying that he has to support the Cuomo agenda because it is the governor’s agenda is at best, a weak and hole-filled argument…and sheds light for the citizens of our state to see exactly the kind of “regent” we have signing off on policies clearly meant to destroy public education in New York.
Of the ten regents that approve of high stakes testing, how many of them are wealthy pushing the corporation policies of their fellow millionaires and billionaires, and how many other Roger Tilles sit on this board…torn between their consciences, yet accessible to financial “motivations”.
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If regents are meant to be merely rubber stamps for the state legislature, why bother with them at all? I say the legislature because they are appointed by it, yes? Obviously, Cuomo has great influence over them, but again the same question remains. Tilles has admitted he is really nothing more than a puppet.
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Regent Tilles says that he wants to support the law that pushed through last spring. He is referencing the Education Transformation (ETA) Act of 2015, which required the Ed Dept./Board of Regents to adopt APPR rules by June 30, 2015. The Board of Regents complied with that law when it voted YES to the rules in June, so Regent Tilles is not at risk of not supporting that law.
But there is a second law involved that Regent Tilles is at risk of not supporting: the State Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how rules (which have the force of law) like the teacher eval plan are put into effect. The Admin. Pro. Act provides very detailed requirements for how the public is informed of the proposed rule, how the public must be afforded comments, and how those comments must be addressed. This process protects the public’s right to be involved, in a democratic way, when the decision makers are unelected appointees rather than elected lawmakers. The rule making process involved in the current proposed teacher eval plan violated the Admin. Pro. Act in numerous ways, by denying the public any information about underlying research and providing access to that research, or alternatively, admitting that no research supports the law. (The details are provided in the comment linked in the 2d paragraph of the blog above.)
But here’s what’s particularly troubling: a Regent who votes “yes” because he or she believes that the ETA is going to be violated is protecting himself or herself, as that’s who the ETA aims at in its order to create teacher eval rules. In contrast, a Regent who votes “no” in light of the deeply flawed process is protecting the public’s right to be part of the rule making process, insuring democracy.
The tradeoff is which law does a Regent choose to protect — the law that if violated puts that Regent at risk for disobeying or the law that if violated does away the public’s right to meaningfully participate in rulemaking?
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This is a perfect example of why we need to reconsider the regent selection process, and eliminate the intrusion of regent “fellows” or “research fellows”, or whatever they are called. Tilles is not my regent, but all the regents and the commissioner will get my letter.
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