LIZETTE ALVAREZ
March 8, 2011
In Florida, Push to Link Teacher Pay to Student Performance
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/education/09florida.html?ref=education
New York Times
Summary: The Florida Legislature quickly set its sights on measures that would link the pay of new teachers to student performance and allow school boards to fire teachers more easily for mediocre results.
The far-reaching bills in the House and Senate would shake up a system of pay and tenure in Florida that has existed for decades and would position Florida as a leader among those states taking on teachers’ unions. Supporters say it will make it easier to reward and promote the state’s best teachers, not by their longevity, but by their work in the classroom. This, they say, will ensure that the lowest-performing schools can lure more effective teachers.
Intended Audience: General Public
Key Points: 1) Contrary to education experts who blame poverty for low performance, this bill places the sole measure of performance on teachers.
2) New teachers will be subject to one year contracts. They will also be eligible for merit pay increases.
Relevance: Why am I doing this again?
At first glance, the Fresen bill looks terrible. Who in their right mind would base a teacher’s performance solely on their students’ standardized assessments, right? “Drop everything and teach to the test, I gotta keep my job! I just hope I get 30 motivated, capable, intelligent students with a secure, supportive home environment…”
ReplyDeleteReading deeper, however, the new policy only reserves half of a teacher’s evaluation for student performance. The other half is in the hands of the principal, for better or worse. In addition, both student performance and the principal’s evaluation would have to be continually poor over 3-5 years. This sounds much less extreme. I still don’t agree with student performance influencing teacher evaluations since there are so many socioeconomic variables outside the teacher’s control, but I think the general goal of the bill is a step in the right direction. I do agree that an effective teacher evaluation system needs to be established first, so hopefully Florida can create something decent with the $700 million they were awarded for that end.
Also, as the article points out… in what other functional, non-government business model is longevity the basis for job security? Someone, please explain to me how tenure make sense! I would love to know how the next generation of teachers feels about this issue.
I am with you Kevy on the question of tenure. Length of time on the job equates to good performance and value to the institution? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteExperience is certainly valued in any profession though, but that is closely tied to performance. I look at the football analogy and it seems to apply. Brett Favre 4 years ago was a great veteran quarterback who could produce for the team and win games. Brett Favre last season...well, he just needed to retire because despite his vast knowledge and experience, he just couldn't get the job done.
I don't mind using student test results as an indicator of teacher performance but, it is definately not the whole picture and as a leader (coach) of the team, I place a lot of responsibility on the Principals. We need to place our trust in their judgement...and if we don't trust them, then replace them too. Unions don't do the kids any favors either by getting behind and pushing to keep teachers on the job who are other than being tenured or for political reasons are protected.
That comment, by the way, is directed at Kevy as an attempted explanation of the merits of tenure.
ReplyDeleteMy only addition to this string is the whole issue of balance between unions and schools. If a teacher is not doing his/her job, than just like any other business they can be dismissed. However, I believe there should be leeway given so, as Jeff mentioned, teachers can be innovative and the reasoning has to be more than parents being angry.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I have seen the union extreme in getting someone let go in the Post Office. A friend of mine was a manager at a branch and had an employee that was breaking multiple sexual harassment guidelines with patrons and co-workers. When my friend tried to fire him, the union made life miserable for him, threatened him and worked to get the employee transferred to another U.P.S. branch. When asked why the union person acted this way, he stated he was protecting the rights of the employee.