New York, NY —

Governor Paterson says he isn't sure how New York would comply with the Obama administration's requirement for states to measure teacher performance.

The stimulus package encourages states to distribute the best teachers fairly among low and high income districts, and to figure out a way to measure which teachers are most effective.

In an interview with WNYC's Brian Lehrer, Paterson called that a difficult comparison.

PATERSON: How would you assess a teacher who could go into a a very difficult school and do a good job bringing a class up to, say, state average on standardized tests and then a teacher that's a little lazy in an affluent community, where all the other teachers are doing well, benefits from the location.

REPORTER: Teachers unions oppose linking student achievement, alone, to measurements of teacher effectiveness.

Paterson acknowledged that, but also says he's eager to take federal money under any circumstance, in order to ease New York's fiscal pain.