EDITORIAL: Teacher evaluation reforms would help NY schools

New teacher performance measures proposed yesterday by state Education Commissioner David Steiner and leaders of the teachers unions represent a welcome focus on what's happening in the classroom. Teachers would be graded more on how well they get through to students - and flunked sooner if they don't.

The agreement ties 20 percent of a teacher's annual evaluation to improving student test scores. At the same time, it broadens how student growth is measured, basing another 20 percent on criteria to be developed by each school district. It's promising to see this portion placed at the local level, rather than mandated from above. This is a fair and workable way to improve the quality of teaching.

Union leaders had previously fought all-out battles to prevent using student test scores, alone, to hold teachers accountable. This is a good compromise - and progress. Also welcome is a quicker process for ridding classrooms of ineffective educators.

New York's previous application for Race to the Top money lost steam in a few areas. Two of them, teacher performance evaluations and union buy-in, improved with yesterday's agreement. The State Legislature should pass the reforms before the June 1 deadline for the next round of funding.

But lawmakers also can't neglect crafting a compromise bill to lift the charter-school cap. To win this $700-million race, New York needs to push for an A-plus. hN