Comments on: City’s accountability czar fields criticism at forum about testing

By: Michael Fiorillo

Michael Fiorillo — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:40:00 +0000

If the policies Suransky-Polakow represents and enables were not so vicious and destructive, I’d feel some sympathy for him, since he is compelled to lie and dissemble whenever he appears in public. While that can’t be pleasant, I suppose it gets easier over time, and he can look forward to that big payoff from Murdoch, Gates, or Broad when he moves on. However, he’s an adult, has made his choices, and thus richly deserves the distrust and opprobrium he receives.

While he may not be flat-out lying when he says test scores are not the only data point used when evaluating teachers, he’s being less than truthful: he knows full well that invalid TDRs were used in tenure decisions last year, and that principals are under explicit pressure to reduce the granting of tenure to probationary teachers.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:53:00 +0000

NCLB made us do…..that’s what he said! Honest. I was there and he said it. Suransky blamed NCLB for the amount and type of testing. It’s nice to know that Klein and Walcott are blameless in this mess. After listening to him I really have come to believe that the moat behind which Tweed sits is so deep and so wide that we will need to drain it when we finally get a new mayor……who really does think education is important for the future of this country and will stand with 1/3 of NY State’s principals against incessant testing.

By: Parent

Parent — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:07:00 +0000

Time to boycott the tests.

By: Vote NO!

Vote NO! — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:39:00 +0000

Regardless of what anyone says, when the new teacher evaluation is put in place, it will be all test prep, all the time. That is just one of the consequences of this horrible evaluation scheme.

By: jteach

jteach — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:24:00 +0000

My feeling is that we shouldn’t reach an agreement with Walcott on new teacher evaluations untill we get a new contract with a substantial increase. If Bloomberg wants to offer 25,000 loan forgiveness to new teachers he can take care of the ones he’s terrorized over the past 10 years first. What do we have to lose in not reaching an agreement anyway? He’s already made teaching the most miserable job on the planet!

By: Noryeln

Noryeln — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Would there even be an issue if the DOE and State had not screwed up the test results in 2008-2009 school year? Who believes this guy and the folks at Tweed at this point? Use of critcal thinking and experience guided by inate intelligence would indicate you can’t trust ‘em!

By: Leonie Haimson

Leonie Haimson — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Suransky may say that test scores shouldn’t trump principals’ evaluations of teachers, but isn’t this the system NYSED has mandated? Didn’t teachers get denied tenure last year on the basis of test scores alone? Has he told Commissioner King how he feels?

By: Rich

Rich — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:29:00 +0000

Wow what a sick school system we have degenerated into. Devoid of intellectual merit and we have intellectually dishonest people running it. So sad.

By: Shael is Shaky on the Facts

Shael is Shaky on the Facts — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:37:00 +0000

Polakow-Suransky said a curriculum that focused on drilling and test prep was unlikely to pay off in higher test scores. “It’s failed wherever it’s been tried,” he said

Shael doesnt have his facts correct. the schools that scored the highest on the Progress report are elem school that spend the entire year test prepping.

By: yoau ain't seen nuthin

yoau ain't seen nuthin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:13:00 +0000

time for him to stop the madness