New York State recently passed a Teacher Evaluation Law that links Teacher’s evaluations to their students’ test scores. Parents across New York City are concerned that the new law will be detrimental to their children's education. We believe that:

• The high-stakes of standardized tests within New York are already too high and have resulted in far too many resources and too much class time going to test preparation;
• The tests and test prep lead to an increased level of anxiety among many students;
• The standardized tests children take were not designed to evaluate teachers or whole schools, but rather to assess individual student progress and for instructional purposes;
• When these tests are used as a tool for teacher and whole-school evaluation it leads to inaccurate data and results in a further narrowing of the curriculum.

We want our children to have the opportunity to learn, to think critically, to engage in meaningful relationships with teachers, and to have have positive school experiences. After witnessing the ways in which New York City's Teacher Data Reports used flawed data to make inaccurate judgments of teachers, and to publically humiliate teachers, we are clear that we do not want this repeated on a state level.