I recently read an article about performance based pay and it’s impact on teacher retention and productivity. The article discussed the findings of Denver's ProComp pay program, according to a report by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The analysis was based on student and teacher data from 2001-02 through 2008-09. According to the study teachers opting into the program appeared to be slightly more effective on the whole. But it isn’t clear if it is due to the program itself or just the teachers were highly effective already.
We can’t give extra pay to all teachers, because we all know that not all teachers are created equal, but what can we do to keep effective teachers who deserve the benefit of a bonus. I am all for a bonus for educators, but more importantly a fair and equitable system. In an Utopian society all teachers would be effective because that’s what they all came into the profession to be. So the easy decision would to just give the bonus to everyone. The alarm clock sounds and it’s time to wake up…! Realty sets in; most performance incentives are based on student achievement. Ok that’s a start, but what about the other intangibles that effective teachers bring to a school that indirectly effect student achievement, like leadership, collaboration, mentorship to both students and colleagues. Student performance is important, because that’s the goal, but performance based on what standard? Do we use the state assessments, teacher assessment, a set target or growth range? All of these options are relevant and viable options. Do we use all of them or do we choose one or two? Then, how do we measure them and how can we make sure evaluators are objective? When evaluating an effective teacher do we focus only on student achievement or all aspects of effective teachers? Please operationally define student achievement. You Be the Judge!
Wow, you sure picked a hot topic to start off with! As an educator I deal with the frustrations of working with great staff and seeing staff who just do what they have to do to get by. And unfortunately, student performance is not always the way to measure teacher performance--there are always students who will achieve grades (if not actual learning) and test scores regardless of instruction, because they are smart and motivated and there are always amazing teachers whose student population is so impacted in other ways that the teacher's skills are not the primary factor in academic achievement. Poverty, student movement from one school to another, parent education level, etc all impact student performance. Makes it so hard to judge!!!
ReplyDeleteBeth I definitely agree with what you are saying, that is why it is so hard to use a system that doesn't take in all of the accounts that you mentioned? I understand everything in life cannot be all or nothing, but what do we do? Do we just let it be or try to attack the issue.
ReplyDelete