From today’s Poughkeepsie Journal

Assembly set to delay Common Core today

By Joseph Spector

Journal Albany bureau

ALBANY — The state Assembly has introduced legislation to delay the use of the Common Core testing standards on stu­dents’ grades and teach­ers’ evaluation, the latest move by state officials to address the outcry over the controversial pro­gram.

The bill (A.08929) is set for approval by the Demo­cratic- led Assembly to­day, Assembly officials said. “The implementation of the Common Core has caused significant chal­lenges that have strained our school districts, ad­ministrators, teachers, parents and, most impor­tantly, students,” the bill states. The bill would delay much of the Common Core testing, particularly for third through eighth grades, from being used in evaluating the perfor­mance of students and teachers for two years. After its first year last school year, Common Core testing led to a major drop in test results. The legislation would order the state Education Department commission­er to look at ways to elim­inate some testing and ban standardized tests in kindergarten through second grade. The bill would also de­lay the implementation of an online-data portal to collect student informa­tion until July 2015. And it would give parents the right to opt out their stu­dents from participating in the portal, which has been met with skepticism about whether it would be secure. The portal was set to start in September.

“This legislation will provide much needed ad­justments relating to Common Core implemen­tation, teacher evalua­tions and student data pri­vacy to alleviate some of the strain experienced by our teachers, school ad­ministrators and, most importantly, students,” the bill says.

The bill, sponsored by Assembly Education Committee chairwoman Cathy Nolan, D-Queens, doesn’t yet have a Senate sponsor, and it complirequirements cates an effort by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Board of Regents to address Common Core concerns.