NYSAPE Objects to Permanent Adoption of Flawed APPR Scheme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 25, 2015

For more information contact:
Anna Shah (914) 475-8889; nys.allies@gmail.com
NYS Allies for Public Education www.nysape.org


As part of the 2015-16 budget bill as it relates to education, the state raised the impact of Value Added Measures (VAM) on teacher and principal evaluation to a whopping 50 percent. At the same time, the livelihood of teachers and principals was hastily bootstrapped to an Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) scheme that padlocks teacher and principal careers to the problematic, badly constructed Common Core tests developed by Pearson — the same tests that students have been refusing en masse.

Tim Farley, Columbia County school parent and educator said, “In New York State, not only are students being tested on the flawed Common Core standards, but unproven reforms drive high stakes decision making, leading to disastrous results for both students and teachers.”

The New York State Education Department plans to present the flawed APPR scheme to the Regents for permanent adoption at the September meeting.  In response NYSAPE issued a public comment urging the Board of Regents to vote “no” and to utilize all avenues within their power to demand that both the Legislature and the Governor amend the education law and decouple test scores from teacher and principal evaluations. NYSAPE’s brief objecting to permanent adoption of the flawed APPR scheme can be found here.

Researchers agree that using VAM to measure teachers’ effectiveness for high stakes decisions is a mistake as the results are often unstable and irrational.

“The careers of New York State teachers as well as the education experiences of millions of New York State school children rest on a scheme that is wholly speculative and not based on science or research,” said Anna Shah, Dutchess County public school parent.

The vast majority of parents do not support tying teacher evaluations to student test scores, as evidenced by New York State polls, as well as the recently released PDK/Gallup poll of public opinion on educational issues.

“We expect test refusals to double if not triple in the 2015 -16 school year,” said Jessica McNair, Oneida County public school parent. “Opting out is the only recourse parents have to protect their children from harmful testing practices at this time.”

NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) is a coalition of more than 50 parent & educator groups throughout the state.