New York’s landmark teacher-evaluation process cannot rely so heavily on how students perform on state tests, and most of the evaluations’ criteria will have to be approved by local teachers’ unions, a state court ruled last week.
At the same time, the court upheld an expedited review process that could speed up the firing of ineffective teachers.
The state plans to appeal. The evaluation process initially was worked out by the state board of regents and New York State United Teachers, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo interceded to emphasize student test performance. The ruling addressed a provision that requires 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation to be based on test scores.
