Re: Strib Editorial: Minneapolis teachers / Alternative pay plan to move ahead Published Jul 8, 2002
The link to this editorial will be gone soon: http://www.startribune.com/stories/561/3036173.html "Last week, just over a third of Minneapolis' 4,500 teachers signed up for a salary schedule that will boost pay when they acquire and use skills known to improve learning. Currently, teachers receive salary increases based on years of experience and education levels -- known as the steps and lanes system." "Under the plan, participating teachers could receive $250 to $2,500 more per year depending upon the training they choose. For example, educators could earn more for learning how to better use student data then demonstrating that skill in the classroom." - Strib editorial What just over one-third of the teachers opted for is a merit pay system. Whether a teacher's annual pay raise is $250, $2,500 or something in between is based on a performance evaluation. I think that linking pay to 'performance' is a bad idea. And it appears that most MPS teachers agree with me about that. Any plan to improve the performance of a teacher should be based on an individualized assessment of the teacher's performance. The plan should include measurable goals and timetables, and specific actions designed to move a teacher toward those goals. Linking pay to performance evaluations is going to adversely affect teaching practices in one way or another. For example, linking pay to test scores encourages a narrowing of the curriculum, i.e., teaching to the test. Linking pay increases to the acquisition and use of "skills known to improve learning" is just another gimmick that won't work because higher ups tend to use a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach, but teachers have different strengths and weakness, different personalities. A skills set that works well for one teacher doesn't necessarily work well for another. "Student performance isn't necessarily a measure of teacher effectiveness." -Terrell Brown "If student performance isn't a measure of teacher effectiveness then what is? Speaking in the aggregate of course." - Michael Atherton I agree with Michael Atherton. If the goal of the new MPS merit system is to improve student outcomes, the criteria for evaluating teacher performance would be student outcomes. Instead, teachers are to be rewarded for acquiring and using certain skills "that are known to improve learning." The district says it promotes teaching practices that are known to improve learning, but the test score data says something else. The school district of which Apple Valley is a part uses the combination of a cognitive ability test and an achievement test to measure instructional effectiveness. The MPS administers tests that show how much ground students gain or lose academically from one testing period to another. These standardized tests provide a fairly objective means of evaluating not only individual teacher performance, but also the effects of institutional policies and practices (e.g., ability-grouping, the distribution of inexperienced teachers, etc.). Student outcomes reflect the type of accountability system a school district has in place. It is obvious that the accountability system used by the Minneapolis Public Schools is not based on the goal of improving student achievement and closing the gap between high and low achievers. That is something I want to change. -Doug Mann Minneapolis School Board Candidate http://educationright.tripod.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
