Rick Karlin is reporting at Capitol Confidential Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch and New York State United Teachers President Karen Magee are at odds over the union's call for a test boycott. In a discussion about the state budget and its teacher evaluation component, Magee said Mon., Mar. 30, she hoped more parents with kids in grades 3-8 would boycott the standardized math and English tests that are used for teacher rating. The tests have become a central focus of the changes proposed to the evaluation system. Later the same day Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch offered a rebuttal saying the tests can be especially helpful for minority children who might otherwise be lost in the system. And she pointed out that funding is at stake too. Schools where less than 95 percent of the students take the assessments can lose federal funding. The Regents and state Education Department will take on the task of revising and reforming teacher evaluation systems, according to the latest version of the budget. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.