For Immediate Release

State keeps its funding promises and reaches fair compromise on tenure criteria

Apr 9, 2008 5:23 PM

The state Legislature on April 8 passed a state budget that kept a prior commitment to increased operating aid for New York City public schools, restored building aid and clarified language from last year barring the use of student scores on standardized tests as the basis for granting or denying teacher tenure.

UFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response:

“Despite facing a very uncertain economy, the state Legislature and the Governor have kept their promises to school children, and we are enormously grateful. By restoring Contract for Excellence funds as well as school building aid, they are allowing educators to continue helping more and more students succeed by spending on reforms such as class size reduction that we know have a track record of helping kids.

But this is only half the battle. Now the battle turns to City Hall, where we will tirelessly advocate for the city to follow the state’s example and keep the promises previously made to parents and educators – but mostly students – by stopping the Mayor’s education budget cuts.

The mayor and the chancellor are just wrong both statistically and educationally in arguing that teacher tenure should be contingent on student scores on standardized tests. There is no independent or conclusive research that shows you can accurately measure the impact of an individual teacher on a student’s academic achievement – much less using student test scores, particularly those given midyear, to do it. No one is afraid of accountability but the measures have to be fair and accurate. Indeed, with the exception of the chancellor and the mayor, everyone in the state – including the School Boards Association – supports the compromise crafted by the Legislature and the Governor.

The reason is clear: When it comes to test scores, the compromise simply continues last year’s budget language that teachers’ use of test score data to inform instruction can be a criterion in tenure decisions. It also calls for creation of a study commission to see if any of these value-added metrics can be a reliable and fair way to measure school or teacher effectiveness. If the mayor and the chancellor have the evidence to show their theory works, they should welcome the chance to have a real independent analysis and consideration of the issue. We are willing. Why aren’t they?”