A Teacher Voice from Florida

President Obama shares the stage with Jeb Bush in Miami

Sound familiar?

Consider this discussion of U.S. public education:

For while schools everywhere reflect to some extent the culture of which they are a part and respond to forces within that culture, the American public schools, because of the nature of their pattern of organization, support, and control, were especially vulnerable and responded quickly to the strongest social forces. . . .The business influence was exerted upon education in several ways: through newspapers, journals, and books; through speeches at educational meetings; and, more directly, through actions of school boards. It was exerted by laymen, by professional journalists, by businessmen or industrialists either individually or in groups. . ., and finally by educators themselves. Whatever its source, the influence was exerted in the form of suggestions or demands that the schools be organized and operated in a ore businesslike way and that more emphasis by placed upon a practical and immediately useful education.

In 2011, does this sound familiar? Maybe even a reference to Waiting for Superman, Bill Gates, Michelle Rhee, and Arne Duncan? This is in fact from Callahan (1962, pp. 1, 5-6) who recognized the corrosive impact of efficiency on attitudes toward the teaching profession--attitudes that have resulted in praise for scripted curriculum, attacks on teacher quality, and calls for increasing class sizes:

The tragedy itself was fourfold: that educational questions were subordinated to business considerations; that administrators were produced who were not, in any true sense, educators; that a scientific label was put on some very unscientific and dubious methods and practices; and that an anti-intellectual climate, already prevalent, was strengthened. (p. 246)

The whole development produced men who did not understand education or scholarship. Thus they could and did approach education in a businesslike, mechanical, organizational way. They saw nothing wrong with imposing impossible loads on high school teachers, because they were not students or scholars and did not understand the need for time for study and preparation. (p. 247)

Callahan, R. E. (1962). Education and the cult of efficiency: A study of the social forces that have shaped the administration of the public schools. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Three important pieces

Three important pieces: "Building Better Kids [cited study HERE] 'Waiting for Superman' at Mission High (Part 1) 'Waiting for Superman' at Mission High, Part 2"

Important distinction about evaluating teacher quality

Key discussion here about value-added assessment of INDIVIDUAL teachers. Note these comments specifically:

"And, unfortunately, they are not alone. I hear people – including policymakers – advocate constantly for the use of value-added in teacher evaluations or other high-stakes decisions by saying that 'research shows' that there are huge differences between 'good' and 'bad' teachers.

"This overall variation is a very important finding, but for policy purposes, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we can differentiate between the good, the bad, and the average at the level of individual teachers. How we should do so is an open question.

"Conflating the importance of teacher quality with the ability to measure it carries the risk of underemphasizing all the methodological and implementation details – such as random error, model selection, and data verification – that will determine whether value-added plays a productive role in education policy."

Teacher pay bill being considered in SC

H. 3363

1 March 2011 Commentary at OpEdNews

1 March 2011 Commentary at OpEdNews: "Ironic Lessons in Education Reform from Bill Gates"

Update: Merit pay bill in SC

PLACE THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF EVIDENCE.

It appeared that House Bill 3363 Educational Professional Performance and Pay Accountability Act of
2011 (details below) would not be discussed until after the House
debates the budget in March, but it was placed on a subcommittee agenda.  IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO CALL AND EMAIL THE MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE WITH YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS BILL.

Subcommittee Contact Info:

Representative Brian White
Columbia Address:
519C Blatt Building
Columbia, 29201
(803) 734-3113
BrianWhite@schouse.gov

Representative Joe Neal
Columbia Address:
309B Blatt Bldg.
Columbia, 29201
(803) 734-2804
JoeNeal@schouse.gov

Representative Mike Pitts
Columbia Address:
327C Blatt Bldg.
Columbia, 29201
(803) 734-2830
MikePitts@schouse.gov

Representative Bill Herbkersman
Columbia Address:
308B Blatt Bldg.
Columbia, 29201
(803) 734-3063
BillHerbkersman@schouse.gov

House Bill 3363 by Rep. Sellars – The Education Professional Performance
Accountability Act of 2011 has been introduced and sent to the House
Ways and Means Committee. This bill includes the following points:

- Personnel will be classified and paid based on what they do:

Pay Classification

1: Math and Science teachers
2:  All other teachers
3:  Special Ed teachers
4:  Coaches and facilitators
5: Special area personnel such as psychologists, media and
guidance
6:  Administrative personnel
7:  Support staff

-All teachers will go through SAFE-T (ADEPT) every year
4 evaluations (2 teacher, 2 administrator) for 50% of your score

-Pre and post test data for your students (probably MAP 75% class
growth) - 30% of your score for pay

-School collective test data - 10 % of your pay

-Professional responsibility - 5% of your pay (parents and students
will be part of the evaluation process)

-Professional development measured by instructional practices - 5%
of your score for pay

To view the full bill, go to:
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess119_2011-2012/bills/3363.htm

PSTA will testify against this bill on Wednesday afternoon.  It is SO
important that your teacher voices are heard on this issue.  Start
calling after school today.  The subcommittee members will not be coming
to Columbia until Tuesday morning so you have time to reach them in
their districts.
(see more info below on HB 3363)
________________________________________

House Bill 3716 (previously 3002) is on the House calendar and could be
debated as early as Tuesday. This bill amends the Education Finance Act
of 1977- to the Education Finance Act of 2011. The bill allows for
changes in the student weightings and added a weight for Poverty and
English as a Second Language (ESOL). Language pertaining to the STEP
increase will be removed and STEP increases will only be provided at the
district’s discretion. The SDE is directed to develop a performance
based model for salary increases to replace the STEP increase. The bill
addresses the Index of Taxpaying Ability. Seventy percent (70%) of
funding must be directed to instruction. The bill also includes a Basic
Education Program that allows the General Assembly to consolidate line
items in the budget and provide a more direct student centered funding
to the districts. The items include, but are not limited to: EEDA, EAA,
Student Health and Fitness Act, physical education programs, units
required by SBE regulations in each grade leveteaching of grade-specific standards.

Representative Dan Cooper, at the request of PSTA, put an amendment to
the bill that assures that there is teacher input in the development of
an incentive compensation plan for teachers. You must get in touch with
your House member and ask them to make sure the section that allows
teacher input in developing the performance pay stays in the bill. A
spokesman for Superintendent Zais has testified and spoken to the media
against having a committee of teachers mandated in the bill. You can
read the response here: http://www.wyff4.com/news/26919658/detail.html