Mike Thomas: New merit-pay bill will revolutionize teaching profession

[d_r]

This opinion at the top of the Orlando Sentinel's page-

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-mike-thomas-teacher-merit-pay-030320110302,0,261974.column

"This time there will be no Charlie Crist to save teachers from the Republicans.

One of Charlie's last acts as governor was vetoing the infamous Senate Bill 6, which would have tied teacher pay and job security to student test scores. Teachers and their unions cheered, but I knew it was a short-lived victory. The unions are on the wrong side of history.

A new bill has been filed, and Rick Scott will sign it.

This is one of those moments in history. Teaching is transitioning from a unionized, assembly-line employment model to a professional, results-oriented model."

The battle against teachers continues. They can not get it through their heads that putting such high stakes on standardized testing leads to teaching to the test. That's what I would do if I was getting paid based on standardized test scores. Yay, a group of kids who can take standardized tests.

[snappyturtle]

1. Everytime I read "merit-pay", my blood boils!

If it's good for teachers, how about we use it to measure 'performance' of lawyers and doctors, or of any profession? I realize these latter mentioned professions are in the private sector however, they can greatly effect our lives too. You may think we have a choice of which doctor, for instance, to hire but, do we really?

I would like to be enlightened on how "merit-pay" will apply to secondary teachers. Anyone know?

If I were studying to become a teacher today I would change my major tomorrow.

Maybe I'm not thinking clearly. I just see these changes in our educational system as non--effective ways to improve the quality of education. I also think it's part of a grand scheme to rid ourselves of the public schools. imho


edit: This thread seems to be dropping like a rock....I guess WI teachers are more important today.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. Almost all of the private sector and parts of the Federal Government are on some sort of merit pay

[snappyturtle]

8. I have heard of performance appraisals for the private sector.

For the federal part, my father was a FBI agent for 22 years (and a SAC for part of that time) and had criteria to meet....but they were acheivable whether he agreed with them or not. He wasn't paid more if he caught more criminals.

What I do not like is measuring a teacher's merit on test scores....too many variables outside of the teacher's control. With loss of bargaining power there will be even more matters out of a teacher's influence. They're the ones in the classsroom and ought to have a lot of say in matters. Too many will be set up to fail by using test scores and there will be a giant rotation of teachers which I don't regard as stabilizing education shortfalls. imho

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. NSPS, now being replaced by STRL is a merit system

There are others in use. Arguably even the old GS system had some merit features.

Merit systems and professional evaluations are used in the vast majority of professional jobs.

Our union leaders had ample opportunity to work with and evolve a more professional system than what we have today in ways that would have benefited all concerned. Instead they were in denial and hid their heads in the sand. The reform juggernaut which could have been avoided with proactive participation is now going to sweep away many members.

[adnelson60087]

15. And what part of education is the equivalent of making a sprocket or a widget?

None. Progressive Professor indeed.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. +1

[bluestateguy]

19. Merit pay is fine, but don't use standardized tests to measure it

Those tests are bullshit and don't measure anything.

[Liberal Gramma]

2. Another way of rewarding the already fortunate

Standardized testing has a built-in bias against the bottom of the social heap: those who didn't have parents who are already educated, those whose parents cannot actively participate in their child's education (or don't see the value of it), students who must work to help their families and therefore miss classes, those whose native language is not English, those who didn't get breakfast before school today, etc. And to further stratify us into the already fortunate and the doomed to fail losers, the repugs want to eliminate Head Start and the school nutrition programs.

[NV Whino]

3. This is an absolute tragedy.

[msongs]

4. give teachers the right to fire underperforming students and scores will go up nt

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. Our unions have failed us on this

Union leaders went into denial and stuck their heads into the sand. The result is that "solutions" are being forced upon us.

[Hannah Bell]

11. bullshit

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. From top to bottom it is a leadership failure on the part of our union leadership

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. Bullshit

There are incentive pay systems in several AFT districts and AFT was at the table negotiating the specifics.

What union do you belong to? You used "our" to describe union leadership. I'm interested in knowing which union is "yours".

[ladjf]

7. I've heard that old theory that "merit pay would revolutionize teaching"

for over 50 years. If there were a valid method of determining which teachers had "merit" and to what degree, it might be a good idea to reward them. Ultimately, decisions about who would get the pay would be made be individuals using whatever criteria they thought was best. In the end, the additional pay would go to some who might deserve it while others getting the the extra pay would not be.

[n2doc]

9. Oh it will 'revolutionize' them all right

First thing that will happen is that the teachers with connections, great records, etc (the 'best') will move to schools serving affluent communities as much as they can. At the same time any teacher in a low income district will be trying to get out any way they can, and the district will only be able to hire the most desperate ones who have no other choices.

Because with salaries tied to test scores, there is an enormous incentive to teach in wealthy districts, and salaries will be tilted in exactly the wrong direction to even things up.

[Starry Messenger]

13. There are so many subjects that don't get tested.

This whole thing is insane.

[Modern School]

14. Teaching to Test vs Switching to Middle Class School

This is terrible news, obviously. Many teachers have been teaching to the test even before (or despite) merit pay. The stakes are so high and administrators are placing so much pressure on teachers that this is inevitable.

However, the biggest problem with tying teacher pay or evaluations to student test scores is that teachers will flee the neediest low income and low performing schools where they are most needed, to work at more privileged middle class schools.

Modern School
http://modeducation.blogspot.com/

[bluestateguy]

18. A rational self-interested teacher will respond accordingly

and teach to the test. All classroom activities, lessons and assignments will be geared toward the state tests.

And that teacher had better hope the kids like him or her. Because if those kids find out that their teacher's pay is tied to the test, they may decide to exact a little retribution by deliberately flunking the test. Don't think that middle or high school students are not sophisticated enough to figure this out.