Until we demand that middle school teachers have mastered the subjects they teach, we shouldn't expect middle school math scores to improve much. Research by Bill Sanders, now the manager of value-added assessment and research for SAS in School, a company based in North Carolina, shows that in many classrooms, the greatest gains are shown by average students. Readers should visit SAS in Schools on the web. Derfler is hoping to make it easier to identify and remove low-performing teachers. An article in the Christian Science Monitor takes a look at the implementation of the new performance pay system in Cincinnati.
People are afraid to be evaluated.
Its almost like the end of the Soviet Union. Its a fundamental change in the way teachers perceive their role and how they are paid, said one middle school teacher. While we don't think the Cincinnati plan is perfect, since it is based mostly on judgments about a teachers knowledge and skills, and only partly on classroom effectiveness as measured by student achievement, we welcome any effort to link teacher pay to results. Retired public employees like police and firefighters often have master's degrees and an interest in teaching, but they are not able to work in the public schools without forfeiting their pensions. Teachers from regions of the country where there are surpluses, such as portions of the Midwest, might be persuaded to accept jobs in states with teacher shortages, but because their pensions are not portable, the move would be too costly.