“Many teachers unions around the country, including the state chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, have opposed efforts to include standardized tests such as the MCAS in firing decisions, arguing that such tests fail to capture the full range of learning experiences and penalize teachers charged with educating students from challenging backgrounds. But the association says that the change is inevitable and that teachers would be better off shaping it.”

“ ‘We have to be the architects of reform, rather than the subject of it,’ ’’ said Paul Toner, the union’s president. “ ‘We have always said we’re not here to protect bad teachers. ‘ ’’

“President Obama and others who favor using more testing and data to inform what goes on in schools argue that standardized tests are a direct and effective way to hold teachers accountable.”

“The debate over using test scores to measure teacher performance has heated up since the Obama administration made it a priority in a grant competition, worth hundreds of millions of dollars to states that win them, including Massachusetts.”