Cuomo Task Force Says Stop the Clock on Common Core

Posted: 
Friday, December 11, 2015

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Common Core panel on Thursday recommended a four-year moratorium on tying teachers’ evaluations to students’ scores on standardized tests, a potential major policy switch for the state.

The linking of any students’ test scores to teachers’ evaluations would be delayed until the 2019-2020 academic year.

The panel also recommended fewer and shorter standardized exams, along with more flexibility to assess students’ progress. It also proposed creating a new set of state academic standards, built with input from parents, teachers and others, and allowing local school districts flexibility to tailor curriculum to the new standards.

Cuomo, a Democrat who had backed Common Core standards but criticized its rollout, said the recommendations will “transform” the state’s education system.

“After listening to thousands of parents, educators and students, the task force has made important recommendations that include overhauling the Common Core, adopting new locally designed high quality New York standards, and greatly reducing testing and testing anxiety for our students,” the governor said in a statement.

The state’s largest teachers’ union called the rollback “momentous.”

“These changes are essential to end the high-stakes pressure that has eroded the joy of teaching and learning and narrowed the curriculum,” the New York State United Teachers said in a statement. Read more in Newsday.

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