Teachers’ Union Pushes Senators To Decouple Their Performance Evaluations From Student Test Results

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NYSUT rally in Albany

BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) – Teachers across New York are pushing state senators to support a bill that would decouple standardized tests from teacher evaluations. Right now they’re judged partly on how well their students do on those tests.

The New York State United Teachers union is setting up protests at several district offices in the state on Friday. That includes Fred Akshar’s office in Binghamton and Tom O’Mara’s office in Elmira.

Those two and 53 other senators are co-sponsors of the bill.

Carl Korn is a spokesman for NYSUT. He said teachers are too focused on the tests.

“It’s sucked the joy out of teaching and learning,” he explained. “If your very career, if your livelihood is based on student test scores, the natural thing to do is to focus on tests and teachers don’t want to do that.”

Teachers want Akshar, O’Mara and other Republican senators to push Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan to bring the bill to vote. “With 55 of the 63 Senators on the bill it should be a no-brainer,” Korn said. “We don’t want to hear anymore excuses. Let them vote.”

Meanwhile, political jockeying between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have caused the GOP majority to close the chamber early each of the last two days. The 2018 session ends on June 20.

The Assembly version has already passed 131-1.