NEA prefers a good evaluation program that identifies needs and meaningful professional development. NCTQ, on the other hand, believes teacher testing is an important diagnostic tool for states and school districts and that it is irresponsible not to collect objective data on the strengths and weaknesses of our nation s public school teachers. This, after all, is the only reliable way to identify needs and meaningful professional development for every teacher. An issue this important deserves all the sunshine we can bring to it. Market based strategies, including pay incentives, to increase the supply of teachers in mathematics and science and to encourage teachers to work in inner-city schools have won growing acceptance.
Most teachers earn tenure within the first few years of their careers.
The cost of removing a tenured teacher who proves to be incompetent is staggering and rising making it easy for a lemon to stay employed and financially counterproductive for the school to seek dismissal. Reforming the system of teacher tenure offers states and districts the hope of instituting personnel policies that protect the rights of children to have fully competent teachers. The NEA strongly opposes this reform, defending, it appears the entitlement of teachers to receive compensation, even for consistently unacceptable performance. Title II Part A funding to award grants to states that use value-added assessment of student academic achievement to evaluate teacher performance. Given the importance of allowing states and districts to determine the most effective use of their ESEA Teacher Quality grants, the House and Senate drafts do not contain specific language for such a set aside.