May 2, 2018
ALBANY, NY – Statement From Assemblyman Joe Errigo:
Assemblyman Joseph A. Errigo (R,C,I,Ref-Conesus) weighed in on the Assembly’s vote for legislation that would decouple student English Language Arts and Mathematics state assessment scores from teacher evaluations (A.10475). The move comes after years of complaints over a 2015 law that required the use of state-created or administered assessments as a component in determining a teacher or principal’s effectiveness. This legislation will give school districts the option, rather than the requirement, to decide whether to use state exams in evaluating teachers and principals.
“Today has been a perfect example of what government can do when it takes the time to listen and respond to the needs of our schools,” said Errigo. “For years we’ve heard how much of a mistake Common Core has been and the unreliability of tying the performance of our teachers to the results of state exams. This system blatantly ignored important factors, such as socioeconomics, districts with unequal resources, students with disabilities, as well as students facing language barriers, and then binding the performance of our teachers to things outside of their control. Today we have put the responsibility of evaluating teachers back into the hands of principals and administrators, and I’m confident this will lead to better results at our schools going into the future.”
