Teachers head: Don’t link tests to evaluations yet

WASHINGTON — The head of the American Federation of Teachers says governments should hold off on plans to link standardized test results with schools’ evaluations until everyone is on the same page.

AFT President Randi Weingarten on Tuesday called for a moratorium on penalties associated with tests during a speech in New York. She especially is singling out national standards, called Common Core benchmarks, which 45 states and the District of Columbia are adopting.

Weingarten says she supports accountability. But she says it is ridiculous to have something count against schools before teachers can make it work.

States often see test scores drop when schools start using those new standards. Weingarten says no one should be punished until everyone is familiar with the system.