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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…)