Court Upholds Mass. Plan To Test Mathematics Teachers

By David J. Hoff

Teachers' unions in Massachusetts will soon decide whether to appeal a judge's ruling that gives the green light to a new state program requiring math teachers in low-performing schools to take tests detailing their knowledge of the subject.

State Superior Court Judge Patrick J. King ruled last week that the state board of education acted within state law when it adopted rules requiring middle and high school math teachers to undergo testing if more than 30 percent of their schools' students failed the mathematics portion of state tests.

The regulations do not violate state collective bargaining laws, the judge wrote in a 13-page ruling, because the tests are used to diagnose teachers' weaknesses and identify their professional-development needs. Moreover, he said, the requirement is within the scope of the 1993 school reform law that granted the state board wide authority...