UFT's budget cut wish-list: entire accountability office (almost)

Somehow this slipped between the cracks: The United Federation of Teachers is signing on to a letter urging the Department of Education to make dramatic cuts to at least five of Chancellor Joel Klein’s hallmark programs. Joining the signatories list — which also includes Time Out From Testing, the Working Families Party, and Class Size Matters — was the third thing the union decided to do Wednesday evening at its delegate assembly meeting, right after two higher-profile votes.

On the chopping board would be the annual letter-grade progress reports for schools; the quality reviews that supplement the test-driven progress reports with observed details; all standardized tests for children between kindergarten and second grade; the Leadership Academy, the nonprofit organization that trains principals; the periodic assessments that are supposed to help teachers prepare students for state tests; and ARIS, the data warehousing program contracted to IBM that has so far been a flop.

That’s not the entire Joel Klein agenda. But it’s a lot.