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Monday, August 22, 2011

Merit pay law causes many headaches

From the SunSentinel.com

by Scott Travis

The state's new teacher merit pay law kicks in this school year and the idea behind it sounds simple: the better students perform, the more teachers can earn.

But in areas such as art, music and physical education, it's raising more questions than answers. The law mandates up to half of a teacher's raise be based on how well students do on standardized tests, but there is no state criteria to evaluate specialty teachers. Districts will have to come up with that this year.

Another complicating factor, says Boynton Beach High School Principal Karen Whetsell, is that a student's FCAT success can't be attributed to just one teacher. "The art teacher, the drama teacher, the music teacher give kids some purpose to come to school…We all work together. How do you evaluate one over the other?"

Teachers hired after July 1 will fall under the merit pay rules; others can opt in or continue being paid based on tenure. Yet even those honored for excellence in their specialties are mixed in their opinions about how fair the new system can be to those following in their footsteps.

THE DEBATE TEACHER

At Nova High School, there's little debate about Lisa Miller's success. As the school's forensics adviser, she has helped her students win multiple national championships, including a recent speech and debate tournament in Dallas.

But how the school district will measure her successes, and those of other elective teachers, is the "million-dollar question," said her principal, John LaCasse.

Case in point: Jamaque Newberry won a first-place award and received a $5,000 college scholarship at the Dallas tournament. He had a 1.7 grade-point average his freshman year and was failing English, but he said debate transformed his entire education.

"I learned to perform, to dress professionally and to communicate without being shy," he said. He also passed the FCAT, boosted his GPA to a 3.0 and will attend Western Kentucky University this fall on a full scholarship.

So does the credit go to Miller, or to Newberry's academic teachers? It's hard to quantify, said Miller, who worries about a one-size-fits-all evaluation.

"How do you compare someone who is establishing a debate program at an inner-city school to someone who has plenty of resources?" she asked. "Or how do you evaluate a program where your children have no talent but lots of heart?''

THE CHORUS TEACHER

After struggling with poor student achievement for most of the past decade, Boynton Beach High School started to hit its stride last year. And school officials say electives played a big part.

The school's chorus, Dimensional Harmony, has brought the school acclaim, winning state and national competitions. Last year, it was picked as the top school chorus by viewers of NBC's "Today Show" and performed live in November. Donald Trump has donated up to $15,000 toward the group's travel expenses.

Chorus director Sterling Frederick is equally proud of his students' academic achievements. When he started at the school a decade ago, they averaged a 1.5 GPA. Today, no one has less than a 2.5 and many are honors students. His students have also done well on the FCAT, helping the long-time D-rated school improve to a C in 2009 and a B in 2010.

"There is a motivation for them to come to school every day. They feel great about themselves," he said. They've also learned to read music, which has helped in their literacy and math skills, he said.

Frederick doesn't teach FCAT subjects, but senior Cassandra Dieujuste said he was a big reason she passed the 10th-grade reading test. "He helped us prepare, telling us, 'Don't fall asleep, and stay focused.' He was the first person I told when I passed it."

THE BAND TEACHER

Miramar High School music teacher Alvin Davis was recently named the 2012 Macy's Teacher of the Year, largely because of his focus on student achievement. Just as students should be held accountable, he said the same is true for teachers and he plans to participate in the pay-for-performance plan.

"I think it will be a great tool to evaluate teachers, and a great tool to increase my pay and recognize the great work teachers do," he said.

He said it is possible to evaluate elective teachers through end-of-course exams as well as assessments where students perform in front of judges.

Davis has been credited with helping students stay in school, get good grades and go to college. Band rehearsals include a one-hour study hall, band staff provides academic counseling to students and he reviews all his students' report cards and progress reports.

But he doesn't see a need to receive any extra compensation for those efforts. "It's a given that all teachers should be motivating kids to be the best they can be," he said.

THE SPECIAL ED TEACHER

In his two decades as a special education teacher, Michael Woods has received many accolades, including the prestigious William T. Dwyer Award for Palm Beach County's top special education teacher in 2004. But he's not optimistic about how special education teachers will fare under the merit pay system.

His students take the FCAT, but their performance tends to be unpredictable, he said. Plus, state law allows special ed students who have not passed the FCAT to receive regular diplomas, making it difficult to motivate them for the test, he said.

Woods doesn't know what other performance measures might be used to evaluate special ed teachers and doesn't plan to participate in the merit pay system. "Number one, I can't control the test scores, and 50 percent is based on student scores," he said. "And number two, the Legislature has put no money toward this merit pay."

THE ART TEACHER

Elizabeth Jenkins is certain she's a good art teacher but doubtful about whether the state's merit pay system would reward her for it.

Jenkins, who teaches studio art and photography at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, was recently named High School Teacher of the Year by the Broward Art Educators Association.

She said she hasn't been able to get any clear answers about what kind of assessment would be used to measure her students' success. Independent judges could review children's artwork, but it might not reflect the progress the child has made, and teachers with small classes would probably fare better than others, she said.

She worries the breadth of arts classes offered may be limited to ones in which end-of-course exams are available.

"We are encouraged to be creative and think outside the box, and I could see where this would limit that," she said.

stravis@tribune.com or 561-243-6637 or 954-425-1421

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/highered/fl-electives-fcat-accountability-20110820,0,966745,full.story

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