ALBANY, N.Y. June 15, 2015 — New York State United Teachers today issued the following statement on State Education Department regulations adopted today by the Board of Regents:
“In concert with parents, we will not rest until New York state education policy supports tests and evaluations that are good for students and fair to teachers. We will continue to press the Regents and the Legislature to remedy the ‘test-and-punish’ agenda pushed by Gov. Cuomo to the detriment of students. While today’s Regents discussion created a small amount of necessary breathing room for districts, New York nonetheless is still moving to make tests count before making them work. The Regents who voted for the State Education Department’s narrow interpretation of the governor’s plan did not go far enough to heed the voices of hundreds of thousands of parents who are fed up with high-stakes testing, and educators who support fair, research-based evaluations that strengthen teaching and learning.
“We applaud those courageous Regents who listened carefully to parents and educators, worked tirelessly to carefully develop regulations that conform to the law while advancing learning, and who are strongly advocating for a system that is fair and meaningful, uses multiple measures and fosters the professional dialogue and collaboration that is essential to helping New York’s already strong teaching force become stronger.
“Continued over-reliance on standardized testing can only make it harder for school districts to attract and retain the excellent teachers that students need and deserve.”
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.