This article was posted originally on September 9. Somehow it disappeared from my WordPress files and from the Internet. I sent out a call to readers and several sent it back to me. Thank you!
The Regents meet this week on September 16-17 to decide whether to approve Governor Cuomo’s teacher evaluation plan. They should vote NO.
The tests have not been shown to be valid or reliable. The passing marks are set so high that most children will continue to fail, as they have for the past three years.
But there is another reason to vote “no.” The Governor has overstepped his bounds. He has no constitutional authority to make education policy. Will the Regents relinquish their authority to the Governor? If the governor wants to set education policy, he should submit a referendum to voters to change the state constitution, which denies him that power.
Here is the original post:
The New York State Board of Regents was founded in 1784, then reorganized in 1787. In their wisdom, the state’s founding fathers (there were no mothers there) decided to place educational policy making in the hands of this body rather than the governor. Governors come and go. Educational decisions should not change with every election.
Unfortunately, Governor Andrew Cuomo has seized control over educational policy, despite the absence of any state constitutional authority. To avenge his anger at the state’s teachers for not endorsing his re-election, Cuomo inserted into the state budget a punitive teacher evaluation plan.
Now, the question is whether the State Board of Regents will endorse the Governor’s seizure of the powers that legally belong to the Regents. They meet on September 16-17 to decide whether to abandon their constitutional authority.
Lisa Eggert Litvin, a public school parent and lawyer, explains why the Cuomo plan is harmful to students, teachers, and education. She concludes it should be voted down.
It will make tests more consequential than ever. This will certainly fuel the growth of the opt out movement.
Litvin wrote:
“The Regents need to address one of the biggest flaws in the evaluation plan — that this technical plan is apparently not based on any science, research or expert study, in violation of the law, and against all common sense.
“For much of the past year, New York’s teacher evaluation plan has been a central concern of parents and educators. There is wide agreement that an accurate teacher evaluation plan is necessary, with the public urging that the plan be created with experts, based on research, science and best practices, unlike past plans. In its Education Transformation Act of 2015, the state Legislature even specifically directed that the Education Department, which drafts the plan, to consult with experts in education, economics and psychometrics.
Unfortunately, it appears that what was created is not based on expert input. New York’s State Administrative Procedure Act is clear that any studies, research or analyses on which the plan is based be specifically identified in the required notice to the public.
“Summaries, citations and authors must be listed, so that the public may assess the plan’s validity and may comment. But the notice fails to provide any of this information; instead the notice just acknowledges that expert input is mandated. And despite numerous follow-up calls and emails to the Education Department alerting it to its deficient and defective notice, the department still refuses to supply the information or, alternatively, confirm that in fact, the rules aren’t based on any research whatsoever.”
Last June, six Regents voted no -and insisted that any such plan must be based on research and evidence.
Now, “the other Regents need to join their colleagues and vote “no” this time, and insist on following the law, gathering the appropriate research, and giving the public access, as the law requires. By doing so, they will insure that new rules are scientifically and not politically based and that the Regents are ready to work with the public instead of what has appeared to be against it. And perhaps most important, a “no” vote will show that the Regents want the laws of our state to be respected and enforced, especially when those laws protect the public’s right to transparent and participatory rule making.”
They should also say no because this is a ridiculous and fraudulent way to measure the efficacy of any teacher.
Even Cuomo must know this by now, though he keeps bemoaning implementation. He must know the whole mess is so ill-conceived that it is truly ridiculous and fraudulent.
So, does he do right, or remain the stone-faced, thuggish liar and hypocrite he has been for so long? If this were a soap, he might get sudden amnesia one way or another about now.
Akademos,
Character doesn’t change.
Right, but if he were replaced by a different actor during some inexplicable absence involving the CIA and a tropical jungle, and that actor had a very different fan appeal, and maybe new writers came on . . .
If I were a writer for this soap opera, I would ensure that the show’s ratings shoot up by doing away with the character altogether.
As the Governor’s Stomach Turns . . . . . Starring Stewart Damon . . . .
Cuomo’s plan turns teacher evaluation into a political football rather than a meaningful discussion on practice and craft. His plan reflects his bias to “destroy the monopoly of the teachers union.” Thus, his motives are political. With a plan that allows most of the evaluation to occur outside the building through voodoo formulas and outside observers, he wants to create a system in which teachers serve “at the pleasure of the governor.” The further from the building the decisions are made the more subject they will be to political interference. Those that work within a system are the most likely to understand the value a teacher brings to the students, and it has nothing to do with a formula. Not only does Cuomo’s plan violate the NYS law, it makes no sense to improve pedagogy state wide.
Well said.
Never underestimate the desire of a “union” teacher to evade any and all responsibility. From what I can tell, those that “work within the system” are working primarily for their own aggrandizement, and NOT for the good of the students….which is exactly why OUTSIDE control is needed. And, truthfully, if teachers shouldn’t serve SOLELY “at the pleasure of the governor”, then they DO need to serve “at the pleasure” of a controlling outside entity.
Once upon a time, “teaching” was a profession. However today, responsible individuals only have to read a selection of posts here to quickly come to the conclusion that “teaching” – as practiced by far too many of it’s “workers” – has become merely a blue-collar occupation, primarily occupied by those who’d have a hard time making it elsewhere as productive components of society. They may command attention by their constant bleatings, but it’s less and less likely that they’ll ever regain the general public’s respect.
Today is a DAY of ACTION. Even if you’re not from NY, you could help us out by emailing each of our Regents, as they meet to vote on the latest outrage that could destroy teaching in our state:
Day of Action
10 minutes of your time today could stop the rushed APPR Plan from becoming permanent.
Please do these 2 things TODAY!
Last June, the Board of Regents, the state’s ultimate policy makers for education, approved a temporary 90-day teacher evaluation plan that placed more weight than ever before on standardized tests, roughly 50% and in some cases 100%. This test-heavy plan threatens to continue to place stress on children, and puts pressure on teachers to spend more time on tested subjects like math and English, and less on the rest, like science, social studies, art, etc. Teachers will be forced to “teach to the test” because their jobs are at stake. And more, in violation of the law, the plan appears to have no basis in research or studies.
The plan is now up for a vote to make it permanent, and we ask that you consider cutting and pasting the email below (or create your own) asking the Regents to vote “no.” The June vote on the temporary plan was 11 yes to 6 no; we are hopeful that with enough voices, this plan will be defeated, and a better, researched-based plan that doesn’t pose a threat to our children’s educations can be created and adopted instead.
1. Send 18 emails requesting support to vote “NO” on making the temporary APPR plan permanent.
WRITE YOUR OWN EMAIL or *Copy & Paste the following text and send emails to each of the Regents of the state of NY.
Find email contacts here: http://www.regents.nysed.gov/members
(I couldn’t get them to paste with contact info in this email…)
Dear Regent,
Please vote “NO” at your Sept. 16-17 meeting on making the temporary teacher evaluation plan (adopted in June) permanent. It rests on you, as our state’s highest education policy makers, to stop this rushed plan, which will be harmful to our children’s education.
We urge you to take the time to create a teacher evaluation plan based on science, research and best practices — rather than the current model, which puts even more weight on testing, and creates more stress for students and teachers alike.
Signed,
TO ALL WHO TAKE THE TIME TO HELP US OUT HERE IN NEW YORK STATE, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
So glad one of your readers found this post.
Cuomo only cares about his pocket book and the BIG $$$$$.
No. The regents will not be voting down or against the teacher evaluation. Pipe dream. Lets focus our attention elsewhere.
You are right as usual.
….another case of looking for saviors and thinking that lobbying/democratically trying to persuade potential saviors is the same thing as strong action.
We are lost and the reformers will win so long as we continue to repeat the same tired things and refuse to critically examine our failings as a labor entity.
The Regents changing their minds (and they won’t) will not save us. Cuomo getting indicted wont save us. Academics re-proving again and again that our side is right won’t save us. In fact being right in and of itself won’t save us.
Only we can.
Every day that Weingarten, McGee, Mulgrew, etc continue
to remain in leadership is proof that we are way way way too far away from ever understanding this basic fact.
This country will probably find its way out of this mess at about the same time unions are forced to fundamentally change, probably coincidentally.
Diane,
NYS needs your leadership to stage the biggest rally New York has ever seen. A rally where every educator in the state takes an unpaid day and parents join along to storm Albany and NY city. Educators are ready to follow, we just need someone to take the leadership role!
Instead we need to be evaluating school air quality with testing numbers.
Where are those tests?
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1835