NYSUT's Dick Iannuzzi said Weingarten's call for a moratorium on attaching high-stakes decisions for students and teachers to the new assessments is in the best interests of students and the future of public education.
"The insistence on using unproven tests -- on material students haven't learned, from a curriculum that teachers don't have -- is undermining the Common Core's potential to enhance teaching and learning," Iannuzzi said. Weingarten made her remarks in a speech to the Association for a Better New York. Here's more from NYSUT.org.
NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira said a moratorium would give SED time to fully develop the Common Core lessons it has promised, providing school districts with the opportunity to offer teachers more professional development and training.
Randi's call mirrors the Resolution resoundingly adopted by delegates at this year's NYSUT RA -- Common Core Testing Unfair to Students" and this issue will certainly be a major focus at the June 8th Rally in Albany – so be there!
Meanwhile, more than 10,000 parents have signed NYSUT's petition to protest the overemphasis on standardized testing in New York. Keep encouraging members to sign on and to help get others to sign. We need to continue to have union members write Tell It Like It Is letters to the Commissioner and Regents so we can continue to deliver 100 emails a day.