Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) has signed on as a sponsor of Assembly Bill 8247, which limits how much emphasis can be placed on student standardized test scores in a teacher evaluation. The legislation was drafted in response to the controversial overhaul of the teacher evaluation system in this year’s budget. Friend voted against the overhaul.

“This bill works to end the ambiguity over how much student scores on the high- stakes testing will affect a teacher’s evaluation,” Friend said. “Capping this number at five percent will allow teachers to be scored on their in-classroom ability, and not which students have taken a controversial high-stakes test one morning. Teachers are more than the three silent hours of their students taking a test, and there’s not a single good reason as to why these tests should count as high as the rumored 40 or 50 percent. This bill cuts that line of thinking off, and allows our teachers to be graded on their ability, not Pearson’s test-writing.”

Assembly Bill 8247 has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Education for further action. Friend’s speech against the evaluation overhaul on budget night can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mum5p17dT7U&feature=youtu.be.