Heslin, SCTA React to Cuomo's APPR Plan

On Thursday Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) officially announced a new statewide evaluation system that will hold teachers accountable for student achievement.

Annual Professional Performance Reviews (APPR) are based on multiple measures of performance including student achievement and classroom observations.

John Heslin, president of the Sachem Central Teachers Association, does not agree with the recent measures taken by Cuomo.

“While it’s finally great that they’ve come to a decision on the APPR, this does nothing to alleviate the fact that this does not help New York’s kids or its teachers,” Heslin said. “Just the idea that a student is reduced to points on a test, defeats the entire purpose of what education is for. Just the idea that a teacher’s performance is based upon points of a test is just as inane. But we’ll work on this, and put it in place, comply with the law, even though it’s with a gun to our heads.”

In a statement sent out on Thursday, Cuomo said the evaluation process puts students first and makes New York a national leader in holding teachers accountable for student achievement.

"This agreement is exactly what is needed to transform our state's public education system,” he said, “and I am pleased that by working together and putting the needs of students ahead of politics we were able to reach this agreement."

As for NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi, he said the agreement is good for students and fair to teachers. He made comments on Thursday saying, “a child is more than a standardized test,” and that evaluations, “must be to help all teachers improve and to advance excellence in our profession.”

“The settlement also reinforces how important it is for teachers to have a voice in establishing standards of professional effectiveness and in developing evaluations that meet the needs of local communities,” he said in a statement.

Heslin said APPR is what ends education being stimulating, rewarding and motivating.

“It’s a shame that the Governor and his attempt to break unions has to put the kids in the middle,” he said. “Even though this new APPR has a curve in it, we are yet to understand how this is going to balance out anything. They’re playing politics with our kids’ emotional and academic development based upon a performance on tests.”

Details of the plan are as follows, according to Cuomo’s office:

Teacher Performance – 60 points: Under the agreement, 60 percent of a teacher's evaluation will be based on rigorous and nationally recognized measures of teacher performance. The agreement requires that a majority of the teacher performance points will be based on classroom observations by an administrator or principal, and at least one observation will be unannounced. The remaining points will be based upon defined standards including observations by independent trained evaluators, peer classroom observations, student and parent feedback from evaluators, and evidence of performance through student portfolios.

Student Achievement in State and Local Assessments– 40 points: Under the agreement, 40 percent of a teacher's evaluation will be based on student academic achievement, with 20 percent from state testing and 20 percent from a list of three testing options including state tests, third party assessments/tests approved by the SED and locally developed tests that will be subject to SED review and approval. Under the plan, school districts will also have the option of using state tests to measure up to 40 percent of a teacher's rating.

Rating System: The agreement significantly tightens the scoring system to ensure student achievement and teacher performance are both properly taken into account for teacher ratings. Teachers or principals that are rated ineffective in the 40 points could not receive a developing score overall.

• Ineffective: 0 – 64
• Developing: 65 – 74
• Effective: 75 – 90
• Highly Effective: 91 – 100

Assigning a Curve for the Ratings: The agreement sets forth, for the first time, a standard for school districts and teacher unions to set the allocation of points or the "curve" for the teacher ratings. The curve must be allocated in a manner that a teacher can receive one of the four ratings, and the SED Commissioner will be able to reject insufficiently set curves.