There's been a lot of heated debate in New York around education issues. Discussions are under way about the best way to move forward. As the debate proceeds, there are a few basic facts and goals on which we can and should agree.
Let's begin by acknowledging that, for all of our progress, New York state is not yet where it needs to be. Our graduation rate is below the national average; only about a third of our students graduate ready for college-level work or career success in the 21st century global economy. That's not good enough. We can and must do better.
Second, New York must unite in support of higher standards. Nobody can honestly argue that New York is better off keeping standards low and misleading ourselves and our children that they are ready for college and work when we know they aren't.
That's why the Board of Regents joined 44 other states in adopting the Common Core standards in 2010. Since then, countless teachers have bravely and creatively stepped up — adopting new curricula, developing new lesson plans, and redesigning instruction to promote critical thinking and problem-solving rather than rote memorization.
But despite those efforts, I'm the first to acknowledge that the transition to the higher standards has not been smooth in all of New York's 700 school districts. Implementing higher standards as effectively as possible in every district continues to be a major challenge. No one thought it would be easy, but that's no reason to stop. We teach our children to meet failure and challenge with renewed effort. Adults must do the same.
There's one other thing about which we all can and should agree: accountability for how well our students learn. We can debate the best way to measure that accountability — from state tests and Regents exams to graduation rates and student portfolios — but the idea that we don't need accountability is simply an abdication of our collective responsibility to children.
All of us — teachers, principals, administrators and policymakers, have been hired to educate the children of New York, no matter how poor or how challenged or how difficult their home life. Taxpayers have a right to know whether we are getting the job done and parents have a need to know whether their child is learning.
And that gets to two issues that are really at the heart of all the drama here in New York in recent months: testing and teacher and principal evaluations.
Many New York parents have expressed frustration with testing, and I understand where they're coming from. Testing is not teaching. Testing is not the point of education. It just tells us where we are so we can get better. It should give parents peace of mind to know that their child is at grade-level and offer a clear, measurable goal when they aren't.
Unfortunately, the facts around testing get lost. First of all, the new Common Core tests are a dramatic improvement over other tests. They better reflect the skills students will need for college and career success. They require more writing in English Language Arts and more real world problem solving in math. Of course, no single assessment can perfectly reflect the full range of knowledge and skills we want all students to have, but we will continue to refine and improve the state tests each year.
And New York has not added any new tests since adopting the Common Core. In fact, we have reduced the amount of testing time in some grades. We are also challenging district superintendents and principals to minimize local testing unless it is helping to meaningfully inform instruction.
Finally, the state is formally discouraging test prep, which takes time away from learning. The best preparation for testing is good teaching. Lawmakers in Albany included in the recent budget agreement a cap on test prep and I applaud their leadership.
The other issue around accountability involves concern from some principals and teachers on performance reviews or evaluations. Some worry that evaluations are overly dependent on testing rather than the informed judgment of principals and other teachers.
But the facts of New York's evaluation system, which was agreed to by our school districts and teacher unions, belie that worry. Only about 18 percent of our teachers are evaluated using student growth scores on the state tests in grades 4-8, and those scores represent just 20 percent of those teachers' performance review. Another 20 percent relies on locally negotiated measures of student progress; the other 60 percent relies on classroom observation and other factors like feedback from parents and students.
And there are a few additional facts that should help ease concerns. Last year, just one percent of teachers in the entire state of New York ranked in the bottom of four categories under our new evaluation system and they have to stay at that level for two years in a row to be at risk of dismissal. In the meantime, they work with their school leaders to develop a plan to improve — and hopefully they will.
As of this moment, not a single teacher or principal has been replaced under the new evaluation law and few if any will before the summer of 2015 — five full years after New York adopted the new standards. The system is really designed to help teachers get better.
I became an educator for one simple reason. I know that an amazing teacher can save lives because one of my elementary school teachers at P.S. 276 in Brooklyn saved mine. His name is Mr. Osterweil.
My mother died when I was 8. At the time, my father was suffering from undiagnosed Alzheimer's disease. Over the next four years, he declined rapidly and then passed away when I was 12. During those years, life outside of school was scary and unpredictable — but in Mr. Osterweil's classroom I was safe, nurtured, and challenged.
As a teacher, principal and policymaker, my goal has always been to give all students what Mr. Osterweil gave me — a classroom where they feel supported and inspired and challenged. That's what we all want.
So let's put aside the politics and soften the rhetoric. We should move forward with a common belief in the urgency to help our children prepare for college, the workplace and life, and the shared certainty of the power of great teachers to make a difference in the lives of children.
John King is the state education commissioner.