N.Y. Education Commissioner John King urges educators to keep pushing reforms
In a seven-page letter sent to school leaders across the state Monday, New York Education Commissioner John King stood firmly behind his commitment to the new Common Core academic standards and urged...
View ArticleBusiness First School Rankings: Districts
Its competitors may be edging closer, but Williamsville remains the No. 1 school district in Western New York. This is the 11th straight year -- and the 14th time in 23 years -- that the Williamsville...
View ArticleMore than 98 percent of LI teachers, principals rated 'effective' or better,...
Add comment Reprints + - More than 98 percent of Long Island teachers and principals rated "highly effective" or "effective" in new evaluation figures released, ramping up political debate on whether...
View ArticleRegents panel: Delay graduation requirement on state exams
Galleries Web links High school students across New York State would not have to meet passage requirements on new, tougher state exams in order to graduate until 2022 under recommendations issued...
View ArticleBush, Obama focus on standardized testing leads to ’opt-out’ parents’ movement
A decade into the school accountability movement, pockets of resistance to standardized testing are sprouting up around the country, with parents and students opting out of the high-stakes tests used...
View ArticleState education commissioner sees how Amherst implements new systems
State education officials say there are plenty of school districts where recent mandates like teacher evaluations and a tougher curriculum really work. Like Amherst. That’s why State Education...
View ArticleStop over-testing, slow Common Core, Suffolk superintendents tell state
Videos NYS 2013 school test scores plunge on LI, statewide Education Commissioner speaks on the importance of standardized tests New tests for LI students Galleries Web links School superintendents...
View ArticleMore than 98 percent of LI teachers, principals rated 'effective' or better,...
Add comment Reprints + - More than 98 percent of Long Island teachers and principals rated "highly effective" or "effective" in new evaluation figures released, ramping up political debate on whether...
View Article248 LI principals join protest against over-testing
Videos Parents assail Common Core at East Setauket forum NYS 2013 school test scores plunge on LI, statewide Education Commissioner speaks on the importance of standardized tests Galleries Web links...
View ArticleWhat you need to know about the Common Core
Big Apple kids will get their third crack at the statewide Common Core exams in the next two weeks. Will they do better? Last year, only 34.5 percent of city students in grades 3 to 8 passed the math...
View ArticleThese are the Upstate New York school districts that excel in science
The streak goes on. The Pittsford Central School District, located southeast of Rochester, has taken first place in The ratings were released this morning. The outcome is the same as in previous...
View ArticleUnion works to sink tests
Albany Two years of fighting over how to evaluate New York's public educators came down to a handshake at 5:30 a.m. It took a long night of negotiations and the intervention of Gov. Andrew Cuomo to...
View ArticleMost LI districts' teacher evaluations skewed toward 'effective' ratings,...
Add comment Reprints + - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo arrives to deliver his State of the State address and executive budget proposal at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center on Wednesday, Jan. 21,...
View Article>Few NY parents seeking teacher evaluation scores
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — After battles in Albany over who should have access to results of state-mandated teacher evaluations, the group given the right to see them — parents — appears to be showing little...
View ArticleActivists urge parents, students to opt out of Common Core
Add comment Reprints + - Wayne Wellinger, 49, of St. James, listens to speakers during a community education forum, at the Port Jefferson Village Center, in Port Jefferson, on Saturday, Mar. 7, 2015....
View ArticleEyes on Regents as it considers adjustments to Common Core
When the state’s top education officials meet in Albany next week, don’t expect them to scrap the new Common Core learning standards or to put an end to a teacher evaluation system that has added to...
View ArticleThousands skip NY tests, raising questions about evaluations
Add comment Reprints + - Kristen Couse walks with her son, Wile, on the playground at Public School 261, Thursday, April 16, 2015, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. According to Couse her...
View ArticleLatest teacher job evaluations show differences in NYC vs. elsewhere
Add comment Reprints + - New York City rated less than 10 percent of its teachers "highly effective" in the latest round of state-required job evaluations this year, compared with nearly 60 percent of...
View ArticleRegents to consider extending Common Core phase-in for high school students
The state’s top education leaders will give high school students more time to meet new Common Core learning standards. They also will provide teachers in school districts that rolled out the new...
View ArticleSchools expect state test 'opt-outs' to increase
Videos Some parents opt out of standardized testing NYS 2013 school test scores plunge on LI, statewide Education Commissioner speaks on the importance of standardized tests Galleries Web links School...
View ArticleCommon Core math, English test scores in state rise
Related media Travel deals Student passing rates on the state's Common Core tests rose significantly statewide this year in math and slightly in English under a new accounting system that does not...
View ArticleLeBrun: Welcome to New York, the state of opting-out
Thanks to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's thuggish war on teachers and his scant regard for the considerable collateral damage it's causing public education in this state, New York has become a national leader in...
View ArticleBuffalo sees eight-point jump in graduation rate
The Buffalo Public Schools saw their graduation rate rise from 47.8 percent to 56 percent for the class of 2013, posting the biggest increase of any of the state’s five largest school districts. The...
View ArticleWilliamsville is No. 1 in Western New York school district rankings
G. Scott Thomas Projects Editor- Business First Email | Twitter | Google+ Williamsville is the top-rated school district in Western New York, according to Business First's rankings of academic...
View ArticleNY task force reviews rollout of education reform
New York's education policymakers say they really were listening, even to the shouting, during a series of volatile public forums held to explain a slate of education reforms intended to better prepare...
View ArticleLedgeview defies volatile trend, remains No. 1 WNY elementary school
Ledgeview Elementary School has brought stability to a volatile category. The Clarence school has kept its grip on first place in It's the first time since 2011 that the same school has held the No. 1...
View ArticleParents push students to opt out of high-stakes tests
South Florida's parents are growing increasingly unhappy with the state's high-stakes standardized testing. Local groups have formed in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties encouraging parents...
View ArticleNYS Ed softens stance on Common Core, high-stakes testing regimen; Cuomo upset
Yielding to mounting pressure from Governor Cuomo and state legislators including Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel, as well as dissenters within their own ranks such as Regent Roger Tilles, the Board of...
View ArticleJoin the Obamas and "Opt-Out" of High-Stakes Testing
It was easy for Barack and Michelle Obama to opt-out. They send Sasha and Malia to the prestigious Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC where tuition is about $35,000 a year and students do not take...
View ArticleBuffalo’s 8-point leap is best among state’s Big 5
Buffalo Public Schools graduated 56 percent of its students last year, a noteworthy improvement over the last five years. The rate is the city’s highest since 2010, when the district’s graduation...
View ArticleRegents vote to pull back on some education reforms
Videos Education commissioner talks low test scores NYS 2013 school test scores plunge on LI, statewide Galleries Web links High school students across New York will not have to meet higher passage...
View ArticleCNY parents' group urges more students to boycott state tests
A group of Westhill school district parents want parents to urge their children to boycott upcoming Common Core English and math tests for grades 3 through 8. "Not taking the tests is the only way to...
View ArticleWhat Feltonville taught Philly about Opt Out
This week, the Philadelphia School District started disciplinary action against the teachers at Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences for informing parents of their opt out rights around high stakes...
View ArticleU.S. education chief Arne Duncan defends NY leader John B. King Jr., Common Core
Videos Protesters denounce Common Core standards Deer Park school featured in Common Core instructional video Common Core videos Galleries Web links The Obama administration came to the defense of New...
View ArticleNearly 65,000 students across LI opt out of state English tests
Add comment Reprints + - There are many empty seats in this 8th grade class at Valley Stream Memorial Junior High School where students opt out of taking their English Language Arts test Thursday,...
View ArticleState Regents expected to pass rules putting new teacher evaluation system...
Reprints + - Roger B. Tilles, a member of the state Board of Regents, is shown in this file photo taken in Oakdale on April 28, 2015. Photo Credit: Ed Betz advertisement | advertise on newsday...
View ArticleBusiness First School Rankings: Elementary
A new year brings a new leader in Business First's rankings of elementary schools. Clarence's Ledgeview Elementary School has pushed up to first place, moving ahead of 2013's leader, Christ the King...
View ArticleSurvey shows math test refusals skyrocket over last year
Add comment Reprints + - A student uses a TI-84 plus calculator to help solve math problems on May 1, 2013. Photo Credit: Heather Walsh advertisement | advertise on newsday Tens of thousands of Long...
View ArticleRegents retreat on some testing, evaluation requirements
Videos Education commissioner talks low test scores NYS 2013 school test scores plunge on LI, statewide Galleries Web links The state Board of Regents moved Monday to ease some testing and evaluation...
View ArticleNew York's test-score plunge leaves parents to wonder: Is my child on track?
Syracuse -- New York parents, students and teachers woke up to a harsh new reality Wednesday when the state announced that nearly 70 percent of elementary and middle-school students are not meeting the...
View ArticleMath test opt-outs soar over 66,000 in Long Island schools
Add comment Reprints + - While there are many empty desks in this sixth-grade class, some students at Southside Middle School did take the Common Core mathematics test in Rockville Center Friday, April...
View ArticleSeven More Reasons to Opt-Out of High-Stakes Testing
In case you need more reasons to oppose high-stakes Common Core tests, here are seven more reasons to opt-out. 1. The opt-out campaign may have already won! A new bill introduced in the U.S. Senate...
View ArticleRegents respond to Common Core backlash with bid to delay phase-in, protect...
Today’s fourth-graders would be the first required to meet higher new state graduation requirements tied to the Common Core learning standards. And teachers in school districts that were slow to roll...
View ArticleRegents’ response to Common Core backlash gets mixed reaction
Today’s fourth-graders would be the first required to meet higher new state graduation requirements tied to the Common Core learning standards. And teachers in school districts that were slow to roll...
View ArticlePanel recommends student testing shifts in NY
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — New York's teachers should, for now, be able to argue against being fired on the basis of their students' poor performance on state assessments aligned with new learning standards,...
View ArticleBar lifts, scores fall
Albany The state now considers less than a third of New York's students in third through eighth grade proficient in math and English, according to standardized test results released Wednesday....
View ArticleOpt-out movement builds pressure to change standardized testing
Add comment Reprints + - There are many empty seats in this 8th grade class at Valley Stream Memorial Junior High School where students opt out of taking their English Language Arts test Thursday,...
View ArticleHere's how the Business First school rankings are generated
• • Home of the Day • Business First will be issuing academic ratings this month for school districts, high schools, middle schools and elementary schools in Western New York and the Rochester Area, as...
View ArticleRegents pass teacher evaluation regulations giving test scores more weight
Reprints + - Roger B. Tilles, a member of the state Board of Regents, is shown in this file photo taken in Oakdale on April 28, 2015. Photo Credit: Ed Betz advertisement | advertise on newsday...
View ArticleSchools 2015: Don’t opt out of this
I’ll begin with a prepared statement, if I may. We at Business First have been rolling out our annual Western New York school rankings the past couple of weeks. Ledgeview Elementary School of Clarence...
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