‘CORE’ LOSES CLOUT

‘Teach eval’ switch

A Cuomoappointed task force on Thursday called for a fouryear moratorium on using Common Core exams to evaluate teachers and students, halting what had been a steady push toward tougher accountability.

If approved by Gov. Cuomo and the state Board of Regents, the change would mean the annual exams in English and math for students in Grades 3 to 8 won’t factor into teacher evaluations or studentpromotion decisions until the 20192020 school year.

“The Common Core was supposed to ensure all of our children had the education they needed to be college and careerready — but it actually caused confusion and anxiety,” Cuomo said. “That ends now.”

Cuomo is up for reelection in 2018.

The recommendations include overhauling the recently adopted Common Core Standards and the corresponding state exams following widespread parent anger over the rushed implementation.

Cuomo’s administration said it was reviewing the recommendations but was generally supportive of them.

It marks a sharp departure from Cuomo’s position on teacher evaluations as recently as April, when he pushed for the state exams to be a bigger factor in teacher ratings — as much as 50 percent — after nearly all teachers got great reviews.

Barely onethird of students were scoring proficiently on the state tests.

“Common Core has just been removed as a federal mandate. And No Child Left Behind is history,” Nicholas Amato, a critic of the standards, wrote on Facebook. “This is a truly amazing bipartisan effort for education reform; it is a step in the right direction. This is a great day.”

Roughly 20 percent of students statewide opted out of the English and math exams last spring, destabilizing the teacherevaluation system and causing a significant drop in the governor’s approval in polls.

“It is disheartening that the governor’s task force recommends eliminating student performance from teacher evaluations,” said Ralia Polechronis of the Partnership for Educational Justice.