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Monday afternoon, I had the opportunity to respond to Merryl Tisch, Chancellor of the Board of Regents, and David Steiner, the New York State Commissioner of Education, as they talked about the future of P-16 education in New York State at the Phyllis L. Kossoff Policy Lecture at Teachers College, Columbia University.  I wasn’t sure what they’d say, so prepared some remarks responding to the proposals regarding teacher education in New York State that the Commissioner presented to the Board of Regents a few weeks ago.  For the handful of readers who might be interested, here’s what I wrote.  (Due to time constraints, I didn’t say all of this at the event.)  Chancellor Tisch and Commissioner Steiner were quite willing to hear and engage with the critiques that my colleague Lin Goodwin and I offered, and I look forward to continuing this conversation with them.

It’s no surprise that the State Education Department and the Board of Regents have taken up the cause of ensuring an equitable distribution of highly-qualified teachers across New York State.  The key justification for such a goal is the fact that the K-12 education system is shortchanging our children.  Although some students are highly successful, many more are not, and the problems are concentrated in urban school systems serving large numbers of poor children of color. 

If that’s the problem, is improving the education of teachers the solution?  It’s certainly part of the solution, given what we know about the centrality of teaching to student learning.  But it’s by no means the entire solution, as a great many other forces shape student outcomes.  For example, a great teacher can’t compensate for a child coming to school hungry, and great teaching of an out-of-date curriculum only results in great mastery of out-of-date knowledge.  I trust that Chancellor Tisch and Commissioner Steiner are not seduced by claims that the single most important determinant of a child’s achievement is the quality of his or her teachers, because that’s simply not true.  Family background continues to be the dominant factor.  But the quality of teachers is, at least in theory, something that is manipulable via education policy initiatives, and it’s a lot more tractable than addressing the fact that one in five children under the age of 18 in New York State live below the poverty line. (more…)

• Duncan thinks there will be a lot of losers in round one of Race to the Top.
• The Washington Post looks at the two major charter school studies and controversy surrounding them.
• A look at charter schools’ tax filings reveals the millions they take in from philanthropists.
• District 20′s CEC has voted to bring back the schools’ old bake sale rules.
• A new report shows that most students at failing Title I schools are still not getting tutoring.
• One blogger thinks all schools, especially middle and HS, should have teaching kitchens.
• Liz Willen writes that sharing is no longer an option for a Chelsea middle school that must move out.
• A UFT party says its time to drop disagreements and fight Bloomberg.
• Peter Murphy says the Post should have exhorted the state government, not Tisch, to act on RttT.
• The Bronx borough president is hosting a meeting about growing class sizes.
• Though his education proposals need the state legislature’s approval, Bloomberg criticized the body today.
• AFT head Randi Weingarten stopped by the Detroit public schools’ contract talks.
• Philly’s teachers’ contract deadline has been extended for a third time.
• And a teacher fesses up to watching Twilight while her students take a test.

The lame duck is acting like a bantam rooster.

Mayor Bloomberg’s fuss-and-feathers over use of student performance data in teacher tenure decisions is a short-lived diversion, like his presidential run during a previous lame duck period. Legal authority for his position is questionable and of little practical consequence. At best, under current law, he has one year to try to work his will but no principal’s tenure decision will change based on this new edict. Weakened by his slim re-election margin, Bloomberg’s tantrum is an understandable political strategy to appear politically strong. But our education plight is too important to be distracted by this sideshow.

The mayor invokes that portion of New York State Education Law § 3012-b as added by Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 which permits principals to make teacher tenure determinations based on “an evaluation of the extent to which the teacher successfully utilized analysis of available student performance data” and the more elastic “assessment of the teacher’s performance by the teacher’s building administrator.” The law was clarified by Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2008 to prohibit use of student test scores to grant or deny tenure. But even if the earlier version is found to permit use of test data for current tenure evaluations, State Education Commissioner’s Regulation § 100.2(o)(2)(iii) appears to prevent this use unless included in probationary teachers’ “professional performance review plan,” a formal document that must be developed “in collaboration with teachers … selected by the [Chancellor] with the advice of their respective peers.” Collective bargaining issues also exist as a change in the terms and conditions of employment. As a result, it is doubtful that the mayor’s unilateral analysis has much legal weight.

Rather than hastening their exit, the mayor has created a legal loophole for ineffective teachers to remain in classrooms.  What the mayor has actually done is to hand every failing teacher, already on the chopping block based on principals’ prior determinations, a ready argument that his or her tenure was denied on illegal grounds. (more…)

• Bloomberg wants test scores used in new tenure decisions. (GothamSchools, Times, Daily News, Post)
• The UFT is indicating that it will resist the mayor’s day-before-Thanksgiving proposal. (GothamSchools)
• Bloomberg’s proposals suggest that he’s readying for a contract fight with the teachers union. (Times)
• The Daily News praises Bloomberg’s plans, calling them “an end run” around a UFT-inspired law.
• The Post says it hopes Merryl Tisch implements all of the changes Bloomberg is demanding.
• Thomas Carroll outlines Bloomberg’s proposals, giving them high marks across the board. (Post)
• Critics say the DOE’s investigation into test score gains at PS 33 in the Bronx was half-hearted. (Post)
• Class sizes are up this year, especially in kindergartens, because of school budget cuts. (Daily News)
• Unlike in most years, schools were closed last week on Eid al-Adha, an important Muslim holiday. (NY1)
• Ongoing fights over space sharing are sure to increase as the city opens more charter schools. (Times)
• Some parents question PS/MS 141′s response to a swastika found on school grounds. (Riverdale Press)
• Anxieties about PS 234 eligibility are fueling reactions to Tribeca’s rezoning plans. (Downtown Express)
• PS 234′s principal, Lisa Ripperger, says she’ll leave the city if classes grow to 32. (Downtown Express)
• The New York Harbor School is gearing up for its move to Governor’s Island. (Daily News)
• Riverdale’s MS 244 sees rezoning as a way to develop a stronger school culture. (Riverdale Press)
• Three students at PS 2 in the Bronx were arrested for bringing a box cutter to school. (Post, Daily News)
• The New York Times editorializes in favor of the Student Safety Act, pending before the City Council.
• The L.A. Times thinks the Obama administration might be putting too much stock in charter schools.
• Parents in Chicago raise money on their own to pay for longer school days. (Times)
• At many Waldorf schools, kindergartners spend three hours a day outside, no matter the weather. (Times)
• Jay Mathews says one of his flaws is that he spills too much ink on education politics. (Washington Post)
• New York State is behind the curve in offering virtual education. (Westchester Journal-News)

• One blogger finds a problem with Bloomberg’s comparison of teachers to heart surgeons.
• The mayor gave the teachers union no warning before announcing his education agenda.
• Andy Smarick thinks Duncan’s presence signified his silent approval of Bloomberg’s plans.
• A DOE official gets in-depth (and defensive) with GothamSchools readers about the progress reports.
• A Bronx teacher looks back at all he’s done to hold students’ attention the day before Thanksgiving.
• The D.C. teachers union lawsuit could be one of many if districts push pay-for-performance measures.
• Alaska’s rural schools are fighting to remain open amid population declines.
• The UFT newsletter says the union improved its welfare fund benefits.
• In a debate between two education experts, the word “curriculum” came up only once.
• Pissed Off Teacher writes that teaching the best students means writing endless college recommendations.
• Critics of Philly’s zero-tolerance policies say the inflexible rules have led to too many suspensions.
• There’s controversy over Education Sector’s study of charter management organizations.
• And have a happy Thanksgiving! (From the editors: And a happy birthday to Anna!)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United Federation of Teachers is indicating it will resist Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s effort to judge city teachers based on their students’ test scores beginning this year.

“When we see an actual proposal in writing we will take appropriate action,” Mulgrew said in an emailed statement. “The new state Commissioner of Education says the state tests are a broken measurement. Are these the tests the Mayor wants to use as a tool to evaluate teachers?”

Mulgrew also specifically challenged Bloomberg’s effort to make changes that could also made through the teachers union contract, which the union and the city are currently negotiating.

“These issues could have been — and still could be — resolved with better management and hard work, not legislation,” Mulgrew said. “His other proposals deserve thoughtful review by the Legislature, which has demonstrated appropriate skepticism in the past about mayoral initiatives like the failed West Side stadium plan and congestion pricing.”

But Bloomberg’s speech today was a strong signal that the mayor could try to bypass talks with the union and go directly to the state legislature to achieve his goals. The mayor also offered another get-tough tactic: A threat to sue the state if the legislature does not eliminate the charter school cap provide public funding for charter school buildings. (more…)

I’d like to respond to some of the reactions to Friday’s post:

1. Cut scores: Contrary to Leonie Haimson’s allegation, we did not determine the percentage of A grades after learning the results of the 2009 state tests. The cut scores for the elementary and middle school progress reports were set in September 2008 and communicated to principals in the Sept. 23, 2008, mailing of Principals’ Weekly (pasted at the end of this post) — long before the state tests were even administered. The two educator guides Ms. Haimson cites correspond to different years — one is for the 2007-08 progress report and the other is an updated version for the 2008-09 progress report.

We raised the cut scores significantly from 2007-08 to 2008-09 to reflect the progress schools had made. However, the gains our schools achieved in 2008-09 surpassed anything we had seen during the last few years. Had we been able to forecast this growth, we would have set the cut scores even higher. (more…)