School districts will no longer be compelled to evaluate teachers by standardized test scores across the state….
Following a shift in political power, state legislators are poised to soon repeal a controversial law that linked teacher evaluations to students’ scores on standardized tests and played a role in the exam boycott movement.
The State Assembly will pass a bill to repeal the law on Wednesday, a spokesman said. The State Senate — which Democrats gained control of in November — might act just as quickly, an official said Friday.
“It has become increasingly clear that standardized tests do not fully account for the diversity of our student populations,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) said. “Our legislation reflects that the performance of our teachers and students may not be accurately reflected in these test scores, and it makes common sense reforms to ensure that teachers can give our students the best possible education.”
At issue is a 2015 law, championed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, that requires up to 50 percent of a teachers’ annual job ratings to be based on their students’ test scores in math and English. Those tests, required by federal law, are given annually in grades three through eight.
The repeal bill removes the mandate and would allow school districts to decide for themselves whether to use standardized exams as a factor, and to what extent.
The mandated use of standardized test scores played a role in the “opt out” movement, which exploded on Long Island and then statewide in 2015…..