At a recent United Federation of Teachers Forum, six New York City mayoral candidates attempted to win the union’s endorsement by railing against school accountability and reform.
An editorial from the New York Daily News warns that such pandering could mean a serious setback for NYC’s students:
Union boss Michael Mulgrew produced the program and was pleased with the answers delivered by the six participants as they pursued the UFT’s support in the coming election.
Competing for Mulgrew’s affections were City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Controller John Liu, former Controller William Thompson, former Councilman Sal Albanese and former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion.
While de Blasio topped the field by hailing Mulgrew as a “great leader,” all called for eliminating or markedly changing annual school report cards and letter grades — a landmark reform instituted by Mayor Bloomberg.
The grades let parents see how schools stack up in academics, student progress from year to year and safety. Abolishing the report cards or mushing them by reducing the importance of standardized test scores would deprive moms and dads of a crucial yardstick of school performance.
