Governor Brownback is now promoting teacher merit pay as part of the new school funding formula. That idea has largely been rejected after years of experience in other states. Here’s a summary of some of the research. “You can be certain that members of the American Statistical Association, the largest organization in the United States representing statisticians and related professionals, know a thing or two about data and measurement. That makes the statement that the association just issued very important for school reform. “The ASA just slammed the high-stakes ‘value-added method’ (VAM) of evaluating teachers that has been...
Read more
Leave a Comment Blog
Governor proposes merit pay for teachers
Governor Brownback is again proposing an ALEC idea that has failed elsewhere (teacher merit pay) and sticking to talking points about putting “more money in the classroom”, instead of addressing the complex needs of Kansas schools. “I want more money going to teachers. I’m for merit pay,” he said during a 30-minute session last week… “’They’re trying to fit the product they want – which is competent children – into an inadequate budget number,’ Robb said… “Desetti acknowledged that Brownback’s call for more money into classrooms is ‘a great talking point’ because, ‘people nod.’ But he said it’s...
Read more
Leave a Comment Massive problems with charters in Florida
We have heard many times that Kansas should be following Florida’s lead on school “reform” including changes to charter school law. We vehemently disagree. Here’s the latest from Florida. “Unchecked charter-school operators are exploiting South Florida’s public school system, collecting taxpayer dollars for schools that quickly shut down. “A recent spate of charter-school closings illustrates weaknesses in state law: virtually anyone can open or run a charter school and spend public education money with near impunity, a Sun Sentinel investigation found.” Read more here: http://interactive.sun-sentinel.com/charter-schools-unsupervised/investigation.html...
Read more
Leave a Comment