Senator Comrie and Senate Majority Pass Legislation to Prioritize Student Education over High-Stakes Testing

Albany, NY -  Senator Leroy Comrie, together with the Senate Majority, passed the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) (S.1262), that amends the 2015 education law requiring state-created or administered assessments as a subcomponent to determine a teach or principal’s effectiveness. The new bill eliminates the mandatory use of state assessments to determine a teacher or principal’s effectiveness and empowers school districts and teachers to make the decision on whether to use standardized tests in teacher or principal evaluations. The bill was introduced by New York State Senator Shelley Mayer and supported by Senator Comrie and the Senate Majority.

Senator Comrie said, “Rigid performance metrics based on standardized test scores have shown to be a tremendous impediment on the success of our students and educators alike. I support S1262 because it reaffirms our state’s commitment to commonsense reforms that will give students greater opportunity to learn and grow, and educators the flexibility they need to teach our diverse student population.”

Over the past two years, changes happened regarding teacher and principal evaluation at the state and federal level. Since the 2015-16 Enacted State budget, school district APPR plans required the use of state-created or administered assessments to determine a teacher or principal’s effectiveness and approval to remain eligible for state aid increases. The legislation returns teacher evaluations back to local control with no state mandates and removes state test scores in teacher and principal evaluations as part of APPR.

It also provides security that school districts will not lose their state aid increases while negotiating their decision. The State Assembly has passed previous APPR amendments 10 consecutive times with 50 co-sponsors, but the former Senate Republican Majority refused to allow this legislation to the floor for a vote.