New York State reached a settlement with the United Federation of Teachers over proposed measures for evaluating teacher performance, clearing the way for the state to hold teachers accountable for student test scores. As part of the terms of the agreement, state measures of student progress on standardized exams would account for 20% of a teacher's score, as would a separate union-approved method. The remaining 60% would derive from other criteria, such as classroom observations. In addition, New York City teachers reached a separate agreement to implement an appeals process for teachers who received a poor rating.
See "Teacher Evaluation Deal Reached", Jacob Gershman and Lisa Fleisher, The Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2012