In an Associated Press article today, NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi weighs in on the looming deadline for teacher evaluation plans.
Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers, said he stands firmly behind the law - including the Jan. 17 deadline set forth in it.
Teachers should be evaluated this year using the new plans, he said.
But Iannuzzi said that both state and local school officials failed to give teachers enough information about the national Common Core standards that were implemented statewide this year. As a result, he said, students will be tested at the end of the school year on material they might not have been taught. And student scores count for at least 20 percent of each teacher's evaluation under the new law.
Because of that, the state should advise districts not to use this year's teacher evaluations as part of employment decisions, he said.
"The state Ed Department should be giving guidance to school districts, saying they should be extremely cautious about how they use these [evaluations] at this point," he said.
The full article is available online at BuffaloNews.com.