UPDATE Feb. 7: NYSUT calls for quick action by governor's Common Core panel
ALBANY, N.Y. Feb. 4, 2014 – New York State United Teachers today lauded Assembly and Senate leaders for acknowledging the concerns of parents and educators and proposing to delay using Common Core-aligned tests for high-stakes decisions for students, teachers and principals.
NYSUT also applauded the Assembly and Senate leadership for taking steps to protect student privacy, and for urging a delay in the state's participation in InBloom's data portal until numerous questions are answered and parents' concerns are met.
"The Assembly and Senate leadership is committing itself to both high standards for students and teachers and to getting it right. The leadership has clearly heard the concerned parents and educators who support high standards but know that a moratorium on the use of standardized tests in high-stakes decisions is essential until the State Education Department makes major corrections to its failed implementation plan," said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. "Just as you can't repair a car engine while it's running or build a plane in mid-air, a delay provides the breathing room that school districts and educators need to introduce, refine and align curriculum and assessments, and for the State Education Department to provide the meaningful support and guidance that has, so far, been lacking."
NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta praised the Assembly and Senate leaders for recognizing the legitimate concerns that parents have about InBloom, and the company's inability to guarantee the privacy of student data.
"Student privacy is of paramount importance. NYSUT applauds Speaker Silver, Senate Co-Leaders Skelos and Klein, as well as Sen. Flanagan and Assemblywoman Nolan for sending a clear message that New York should not participate in InBloom's data portal until all questions have been answered and parents' legitimate concerns met," Pallotta said.
Pallotta added, "Virtually all the education stakeholders agree it will take several more years for new standards, curriculum, instruction and professional development to be properly aligned. We commend the Assembly and Senate which recognizes this, and which is working to both provide the necessary funding and protect students and educators from unfair consequences stemming from SED's flawed implementation."
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.
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