Some local educators are protesting against using standardized testing as a way to evaluate teachers.

The New York State Legislature passed the Annual Professional Performance Review, APPR, a few years ago. Under the law, the state requires school districts to conduct this annual review for each teacher and principal, resulting in a rating of "highly effective," "effective," "developing," or "ineffective."

Some teachers say they do not like the review because it's tied to their students' standardized test scores.

Patrick Ryan, a physical education teacher at Washingtonville High School, says the evaluation forces teachers to give up creativity in the classroom.

“My fear is a teacher might be overly concerned about test scores and start teaching to the test rather than teaching what really needs to be taught,” says Ryan.

Teachers were meeting Monday night at Delancey's in Goshen to discuss the evaluation plan that they say is bad for schools.

Critics include Democratic Assemblyman James Skoufis, who says he broke with his party, voting against the bill. Skoufis was set to attend the meeting.

A spokesperson for Senate GOP Leader John Flanagan tells News 12 they are confident they'll reach an agreement before the state Education Department's moratorium decoupling teacher evaluations and student testing expires next year.