The leadership of the Delaware State EducationAssociation, the union representing virtually all the state's teachers, openly supports the concept. But there is deep disagreement about how teachers and school administrators should be held accountable. We support the idea that student test scores should be part of a teacher's annual job evaluation. But this won't work without annual student testing at the start and finish of each school year. Gov. Carper's administration has backed away from its original position that student performance constitute 20 percent of a teacher's evaluation.
Current language is vague to the point of being meaningless.
The administration and business community believe the Professional Standards Board should be a collaborative arm of the State Board of Education and should not be dominated by any one group. The teachers believe it should be independent and dominated by educators. This difference will not be resolved easily. The two sides are basically arguing at the margins about whether the board should have 15 or 17 members and how many educators should be on it. We believe that the matters of professional licensure and job evaluations must be kept separate.