Recent efforts by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to improve the quality of public education are necessary yet insufficient. Cuomo and lawmakers reached a $142 billion budget deal this Monday, which includes controversial education reform that would result in a tougher teacher evaluation system. Cuomo has been its vocal advocate. In his recent op-ed article in Newsday, he argues, “In New York last year, about 99 percent of the teachers were rated effective while only 38 percent of high school graduates are ready for college or careers.” He asks rhetorically, “How can that be?”

Addressing this perplexing discrepancy, Cuomo claims the fault is in the current rating system, which was introduced in 2010 to win the financial rewards in Obama administration’s Race to the Top competition. Currently, up to 20  percent of the teachers’ ratings is tied to students’ progress in state exams. He believes this system fails to identify bad teachers, deteriorating the quality of public education. As a part of this year’s budget proposal, he has proposed that students’ progress on state exams comprise 50 percent of the teachers’ rating. However, his proposal oversimplifies the complexity of the issue. Teacher performance is an important factor in student success, but certainly not the only indicator of the education system’s failure.

Many socioeconomic factors besides teacher performance affect students. A 2011 study shows that students from low-income families had a nine percent chance of getting a college degree, while their counterparts from high-income families had a 54 percent chance. These statistics show that socioeconomic factors have a great influence on student performance. Policymakers should consider policies that address these factors, such as the expansion of affordable after-school program and increased provision of quality academic advisors.

It is undeniable that more objective standards should be introduced to better identify underperforming teachers, considering last year’s  unrealistic figures that said 95.6 percent of teachers were rated either effective or highly effective across the state according to the New York State Education Department. But a tougher evaluation system alone does not directly improve the quality of education, policymakers should also realize that struggling teachers need greater support to achieve higher standards.

The discrepancy between student performance and teacher evaluation shows that despite numerous teaching reforms, too many students are still underperforming. Teacher ratings are often inflated and require an overhaul. However, if lawmakers do not address fundamental socioeconomic problems that undermine students’ academic performance, students will never improve. Policymakers should focus more on fighting the obstacles outside the classroom that stop students from achieving their full potentials.

 Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them. 

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, April 2 print edition. Email Kenny Kyunghoon Lee at [email protected].