Members voted against establishing criteria to analyze alternative pay systems in July, at the NEA's annual meeting. Under the new Cincinnati system, the level of education, including any additional credits a teacher earns, still counts in determining salary. Teachers fall into one of five groups, from apprentice to career level. Within the categories are steps, similar to the existing system, Beck said. Movement between categories depends on evaluations, and teachers advance to the next step within a category according to years of service.
Evaluators use standardized criteria to assess teacher performance.
Teachers also submit portfolios, said Beck. Student test scores are not included in evaluation criteria, and teachers can appeal their scores from administrators to a panel of teachers and other administrators. The new plan applies to teachers with fewer than 22 years of experience. As for the NEA's position, Beck said changing a salary structure is a difficult issue for teachers to discuss and on which to reach agreement. We need to demonstrate that teacher quality is important to us and that we know when people are teaching at a higher level.