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They might have returned to the negotiating table, but officials from the teachers union and the Department of Education still can’t agree on what they’re talking about.

Union and city officials met this afternoon to discuss teacher evaluations for the first time in months without a imminent deadline hanging over their heads. The city said the meeting was a first step toward a citywide evaluation deal, but the union indicated that it would continue to push for talks that focus on evaluations in just 33 schools.

Earlier in the day, the union petitioned the state’s employee relations board to force the DOE back into talks over a system for the 33 schools, which were supposed to be using evaluations this year. In an earlier petition, the union wanted the Public Employee Relations Board to assign a mediator to deal with a sticking point over teacher rating appeals. This petition is designed to finish the job.

The 33 schools at the center of the disagreement were part of a federal school reform program that promised $60 million in funding in exchange for the evaluations. Both sides agreed this summer to work toward a deal on the pilot and to use it as a model for the citywide system, but those talks broke down at the end of last year. Shortly after, Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to close and reopen the 33 schools with new teachers, and the city has insisted ever since that it only needs to negotiate a citywide deal.

The city’s insistence came only after Gov. Cuomo helped break a standoff on how teachers should be able to appeal their low ratings. In a letter sent to Mulgrew shortly after, Chancellor Walcott said that was all it would take to negotiate a citywide system.

“With all major issues resolved, it is incumbent on us to finalize an agreement for a new evaluation system for all teachers in New York City, and to do so without delay,” Walcott said in the letter. (more…)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is aggressively pushing for the city to link test scores to tenure decisions this year, but state education officials are less confident that the tests are a reliable measure of progress and are proceeding with caution.

Using test scores as a factor in teacher evaluations is one of the most controversial elements of the Race to the Top guidelines, which states are striving to meet in order to win the federal grants. On Monday, the State Board of Regents endorsed linking test scores to tenure decisions. But state officials are wary of using the tests before they’re improved upon, an approach that contrasts with the city’s decision to use the data immediately.

Speaking at a press conference about the state’s Race to the Top application yesterday, State Education Commissioner David Steiner warned against giving too much weight to the state tests or making them the sole indicator of a teacher’s success or failure.

“It would not be sound policy to ground the assessment of teachers in assessments we don’t have complete confidence in,” Steiner said. (more…)