ALBANY, N.Y. Feb. 20, 2014 - NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi today issued the following statement on the work of Gov. Cuomo’s Common Core panel:
"Now that the governor’s panel is under way, it is imperative for it to conclude its work swiftly. The clock continues to tick away the time until another battery of inappropriate Common Core tests will be imposed on anxious and stressed students, parents and teachers.
"What appears to be an initial focus on the need to ramp up public engagement once again misses the point. An abundance of evidence has already demonstrated that the state’s implementation is seriously flawed and no amount of positive public engagement can make up for its failings.
"Once again, NYSUT calls on the panel to hear directly from practitioners - teachers and administrators - as well as parents to understand how seriously flawed the implementation has been and why a moratorium on the high-stakes consequences is needed. Before any public engagement or drive to get parental support can succeed, the State Education Department must first get it right."
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.