Nineteen Legislators Tell Cuomo New Principal and Teacher Rating System is Unproven and Potentially Damaging; Urge Governor to Convert New Rating System Into Pilot Program

February 5, 2013

Assemblymember Jim Brennan (D-Brooklyn) and eighteen other legislators have urged Governor Cuomo to support legislation to reform the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) of principals and teachers. In a January 15th letter to the Governor, they point to numerous serious concerns about the use of student test data to evaluate educators, suggesting that the APPR requires further review before being put into practice.

The APPR mandates that educators be assigned a numerical rating, with a considerable percentage (20-40%) to be determined by student test data. The use of standardized testing data to determine operational decisions, such as compensation and termination for teachers and principals, relies heavily on the value-added model (VAM). Testing and education experts have expressed serious concerns about the validity of the model, pointing to the inability of this methodology to identify the most effective teachers. As an Economic Policy Institute briefing paper mentions, one study found that across five large urban districts, among teachers rated in the top 20% of effectiveness in the first year, less than a third were in the highest rated group the following year, and another third moved all the way down to the bottom 40%.

“The use of an assessment system based on unproven methods of determining teacher effectiveness is a mistake with potentially disastrous implications,” Brennan said. “While I share the Governor’s commitment to increased accountability in our school system, it is absolutely essential that any review process that determines the employment and compensation of any individual be shown to be accurate and reliable,” Brennan continued.

The unintended consequences of this model extend beyond the teaching profession. This model creates incentives for an increased focus on test preparation and a corresponding narrowing of the curriculum. “The high-stakes testing model could have a direct, negative impact on the quality of the education our students receive. We must ensure that we do not mistakenly damage the teaching profession and our school system in a flawed attempt to increase accountability,” Brennan commented.

Scores of educators and parents have vociferously expressed these and other similar concerns. Approximately one third of all principals statewide have signed onto a letter declaring that the APPR is “seriously flawed” and that “our schools and students will bear the brunt of the bad design.” A statewide petition expressing opposition to the current APPR legislation has received more than 9,000 signatures from educators and parents.

Brennan plans to reintroduce legislation to turn the APPR into a three-year pilot program. In this three-year period, the Commissioner would be required to review and evaluate the APPR system and report to the Governor on the validity of the evaluations. High-stakes decisions, such as termination of employment and compensation based on student test data, would be suspended during this time.

The legislators who signed the letter include: Assemblymember Steve Englebright, Assemblymember William Magnarelli, Assemblymember Alan Maisel, Assemblymember Joan Millman, Assemblymember Amy Paulin, Assemblymember Robert Sweeney, Assemblymember Matthew Titone, Assemblymember Addie Russell, Assemblymember Annette Robinson, Assemblymember Barbara Lifton, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Assemblymember Ellen Jaffee, Assemblymember Vanessa Gibson, Assemblymember William Magee, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, Assemblymember Margaret Markey, Senator Liz Krueger and Senator Velmanette Montgomery.

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