NYSED Commissioner John King: Critics Of SED/Regents Reforms Are "Misinformed"

You thought the Gospel of the Common Core Tour starring Merryl Tisch and John King was over?

You thought wrong - the propaganda-fest continues:

ALBANY—State education commissioner John King argued in a letter to New York educators Monday that concerns raised by teachers and parents at a series of public hearings were based on “misinformation.”

Particularly, he refuted claims that students are facing an increase of standardized testing as a result of of the state's 2010 switch to the Common Core standards, controversial, rigorous curriculum guidelines that have been adopted by nearly every state.

King outlined a previously announced set of changes he and the Board of Regents are pursuing to reform and reduce testing.

“No one change is going to satisfy everyone, but the elements discussed in this document form a meaningful and comprehensive approach,” King wrote, referring to the six-page letter. “We’ll make more adjustments in the future as we learn more about your successes and challenges. We hope that parents, teachers, students, and administrators continue to be open about their concerns and partner with us to make Common Core a continuing success.”

Of course there is increased standardized testing in schools - the new teacher evaluation system that mandates 40% of a teacher's evaluation rating come from so-called "student performance" adds either new standardized tests or "performance assessments" in every grade in every subject so that teachers can be evaluated via APPR.

In addition, because there is much emphasis on test scores for both principals and teachers, many schools are engaging in way more test prep than in the past.

King, as usual, is full of crap as he slings the Gospel of the Common Core jive to the public.

So long as 40% of teacher ratings come from "student performance," there is going to be a ton of extra tests and endless test prep in schools.

Same goes for the school accountability measures that hold principals and schools themselves to the scores.

Hell, whole districts are being threatened with state takeover by John King himself in part because their test scores are so low.

John King is misinforming the public when he says criticism of Common Core and the SED reform agenda is based on "misinformation."

In short, he's full of shit.