>Reformers ‘score’ win in teach evaluations
By CARL CAMPANILE and YOAV GONEN
Last Updated: 3:02 AM, May 17, 2011
Posted: 12:23 AM, May 17, 2011
Amid significant opposition, the state Board of Regents approved New York’s first teacher-evaluation system that will incorporate student growth on test scores as part of a teacher’s rating.
At the center of debate were several recent changes to the system backed by Gov. Cuomo — including allowing annual state test scores to account for 40 percent of a teacher’s rating rather than the 20 percent agreed to by the teachers union and the state Education Department last year.
The 11th-hour changes also raised the cut-off scores teachers need to reach any of the four rating categories: ineffective, developing, effective and highly effective.
The move was made so teachers couldn’t get good ratings without scoring well on both parts of the evaluation — a student performance piece and a separate review of their teaching by a supervisor.
