HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — State lawmakers are wading into the issue of updating Pennsylvania’s system of evaluating teacher performance.

Updating teacher evaluations is a priority for Governor Corbett. At a hearing on a bill to do that, Corbett’s Education Secretary Ron Tomalis said there’s been no major update in more than four decades.

“Currently, we have 99.4-percent of teachers last year that were rated satisfactory,” Tomalis says.

But Penn Delco teacher Linda Cook, who represents the Pennsylvania State Education Association, expressed concerns about a proposal to rely heavily on standardized tests in creating a new evaluation scheme to the House Education Committee.

“Use of standardized tests to calculate at least 50-percent of a classroom teacher’s overall evaluation will not produce valid or fair conclusions.”

But Cook says the PSEA understands the importance of an evaluation system that removes persistently ineffective teachers.

Reported by Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio