The Seattle Times is reporting good news today about Washington’s teachers. We added 1,248 National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) this year, just behind North Carolina’s 1,509. This makes Washington State 2nd in the nation for the number of teachers who pursued and obtained National Board certification in 2009. These teachers will now receive a $5,000 annual bonus from the state. The state offers an additional $5,000 annual bonus (total of $10,000 per year) to those NBCTs who opt to teach in a high-needs school. In addition, some districts may offer additional incentives (this may have changed recently due to budget cuts).
This is great news for Washington’s children who are fortunate to be taught by NBCTs. LEV has been supportive of the program and the annual bonus, however, we would like to see other ways of measuring and rewarding effective teaching besides the National Board certification. Also, we would support additional incentives in the future to increase the number of highly effective teachers in struggling schools.
“we would like to see other ways of measuring and rewarding effective teaching”
Measuring:
What metrics would you use? What do you consider effective teaching?
Rewarding:
How would you reward “effective teaching”?
Would you also reward effective administrating?
Effective parenting or gaurdianship? Effective community participation?
When a student has an “ah ha” moment when they’re 25, and realizes that they DO know what the teacher was teaching and now find it useful, would the teacher get a bonus then?
When a student learns about civic engagment and runs for governor, does the teacher get a bonus?
How do teachers of PE, art, civics, history, CTE, music, engineering drawing, woodshop, metalshop, foreign language and other subjects get their bonuses? After all, we only measure Reading, Writing, Math and Science on that infernal WASL
Is there a measurement and bonus available for teachers, administrators, board members and other educators for the success they have in bringing damaged and hurting children up when they come to school?
Do educators who work with these troubled children get bigger bonuses, because they are meeting the very basic needs of these kids?
Effective teachers are able to help students master or make progress toward mastering our state’s Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) and Grade Level Equivalents (GLEs)–standards which were developed by educators, policymakers and citizens.
As you’ve pointed out, it’s not easy measuring effectiveness–pilot projects across the nation are attempting to do so in a fair and equitable way. LEV would support a system of multiple measures which could include the WASL, classroom assessments and diagnostics, class work and projects, etc. We applaud Lake Washington, Edmonds and Peninsula school districts for developing evaluation systems that include evidence of teaching effectiveness.
LEV is also supportive of a P-20 data system that will give educators and parents a better picture of student achievement and progress.
As for rewarding effectiveness in our public schools, LEV has proposed the idea of school-based bonuses for faculty, staff and educational equipment.
You can read more on page 4 under Proposal 2 here: http://levfoundation.org/files/A_Way_Forward.pdf
What evidence do you have that board certified teachers are more “effective” that other teachers, including those with master’s degrees in our state? The evidence so promenently circulated last year reflected on teachers with master’s degrees that were assigned outside of the field they received their masters degree in. How effective would board certified teachers be when assigned outside of their area of study?
Please explain how your proposed evaluation system would factor in such things as student willingness and motivation, parent/guardian’s ability to enrich or assist at home, and other factors that are out of the educator’s control.
Two for intances:
1) great teacher, everyone agrees lesson was great, one student does great, one student does poorly. Is the poor performance of the student then the result of the great teacher?
2) Teacher assigns assignment. Student A takes it home and struggles with it, unable to do it, and no parent/guardian at home to help. Parents don’t speak English. Student B goes home, parents help student understand assignment, then take child to enriching activity where student learns even more about subject of unit and maybe even lesson. Both students return, and a week later take a test on the material. Student A fails, student B passes. Is the failure o student A the teacher’s fault?
Please see evaluating teachers on student performance is ridiculous. Evaluate teaching, not learning, because the learning is subject to way to many variables. Should a teacher “suffer” a poor evaluation because some students don’t have support, are oppositional, are hungry that day?
Teachers are already supposed to be evaluated on teaching, as per their CBA. Maybe you might spend your time (and Gates’ dollars) getting a review of THAT process and why it’s not followed before you go tearing off, maligning teachers as not “quality” for factors beyond their control
(nice implied slam on teachers, by the way: “This is great news for Washington’s children who are fortunate to be taught by NBCTs” meaning I suppose, that students NOT taught by a NBCT are unfortunate. Well worded directly implied slam: You’ve learned the use of language to insult somewhere….probably a public school?
“As for rewarding effectiveness in our public schools, LEV has proposed the idea of school-based bonuses for faculty, staff and educational equipment.”
Coyld you explain
1) how this would work,and
2) what “educational equipment” is and why it needs a bonus. I’m assuming you mean all the other educators in the building besides teachers, such as IAs, counselors, career specialists, custodial, security, lunch staff, admins, attendance, office, and other educators who help teach our children.