State Education Commissioner King Sides with Students over Teachers Union
State Education Commissioner John King has announced a new teacher evaluation plan that was designed to benefit the educational interests of the students, not the employment interests of the teachers union. King announced his plan after negotiations between Mayor Bloomberg and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew reached a stalemate.
According to the Daily News:
In September, principals will begin rating teachers using yardsticks that include standardized English and math test score gains, demonstrated progress in other subjects, classroom observations and pupil surveys.
Grades will be highly effective, effective, developing and ineffective, with two ineffective ratings in a row presumptive grounds for termination. According to some estimates, several thousand teachers a year could eventually face dismissal.
King’s plan will give New York’s next mayor a better chance at evaluating the performance of the city’s 80,000 teachers, with the goals of helping them improve and removing ineffective teachers from the classroom.