Merit+Pay+System+in+Ohio+First+in+the+Country

= = == = = =By Reginald Fields= =//Published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer//= =//4/23/11//= = = = = =COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio's new collective bargaining law would wipe out automatic public school teacher pay raises in favor of a statewide pay-for-performance system that would be the first of its kind in the country.= =No state now has a mandatory statewide merit pay system for teachers. And while districts or schools across the country have experimented with plans tying bonus money to student achievement, teachers are still guaranteed their annual pay raises as called for by their contracts.= =That won't be the case in Ohio under the new law, commonly known as Senate Bill 5, which eliminates salary schedules and step increases for Ohio's 110,000 full-time public school teachers in favor of a straight pay-for-performance system paid for at the local levels.= ="That's the most fascinating component of this," said Kathy Christie, chief of staff for the Education Commission of the States, a Denver-based nonpartisan group that studies education issues and policies across the country.= =While it is done with success at a single school district in Colorado, Christie said Ohio would be the only state in the country where merit pay would replace automatic raises statewide.= = = ="That is the type of component that really, really resonates with the public. If you are not pulling your weight, if you are not getting performance, if you are not tenacious and really trying to learn and all those sorts of things you want to see teachers doing, then you don't move up at all," she said. "And I tell you, you run that by public opinion and you get a thumbs-up every time."= =Teachers in Ohio certainly hope that is not the case. They oppose the far-ranging new law and, more specifically, oppose merit pay as it is proposed because they say too many factors beyond a teacher's control affect student learning.= =Under Senate Bill 5, teacher performance would be weighed partly by a new set of standards being created by the state board of education that involve observing teachers in the classroom and evaluating their knowledge of the subject they teach and their teaching skills.= =But the biggest piece, which is far from complete, is developing a test that will gauge student academic growth over a school year or from year to year, said Ohio Department of Education spokesman Patrick Gallaway.= =Student achievement will be the biggest single metric in a teacher's evaluation, making up 50 percent of the final performance mark for each educator and determining whether he or she gets a raise, nothing, or potentially gets fired.= =The new system would not affect current teacher contracts, which would remain in effect until they expire.= =Because of improved teacher evaluation systems and data collection on students, more states are looking for ways to link the two items -- teaching skills and pupil achievement -- though pay-for-performance is not necessarily on the radar everywhere, Christie said.= ="We are seeing a sea change in the last 12 to 18 months on the teacher evaluation piece," she said. "It is an unbelievable amount of movement on this issue."= =In recent years, school districts in Iowa, Texas, Minnesota, New York and elsewhere have experimented with pay-for-performance programs and many have not lasted beyond a few years. Most struggle to find an equitable way of providing raises to all while also handing out merit pay to some, Christie said.= =Harvard economist Roland Fryer in March concluded that a $75 million pay-for-performance pilot program in New York City that started in 2007 did not increase student achievement.= =A study from Vanderbilt University released last September that followed Nashville teachers eligible for merit pay from 2007 through 2009 also concluded that student academic achievement did not improve.= =But that study concluded that teachers are likely to agree to work under a merit pay plan if they are convinced their employer has a sound policy reason for doing it as opposed to feeling as though it is being forced on them.= =Unlike those other programs, Ohio's would not allocate any special funds for merit pay. The bonus pay would be money the districts already had intended to pay all teachers as part of automatic annual pay raises.= =Matt Mayer, president of the conservative Buckeye Institute, supports Senate Bill 5 and merit pay.= =If he could further design the pay-for-performance program in Ohio, Mayer said only one in four teachers would be rewarded with pay increases and the bottom teachers would have to immediately boost their teaching skills or be fired.= ="The real focus on K-12 pay for performance should be on rewarding the top 25 percent of teachers that when compared to their peers excel in terms of the academic achievement of their pupils," he said.= ="And then there is the bottom 25 percent who are below their peers," Mayer continued. "Get those who underperform help or help them move on to a new career."= =And the middle 50 percent would get raises only as resources within the individual districts allow, he said. "Kind of how the private sector works," Mayer said.= =He added that teachers should be compared only to other teachers within the same district and grade level so that an educator with at-risk students isn't compared to one with affluent pupils.= = = =Needless to say, teachers and their unions are not thrilled with any of this.= =They wonder how anyone can be certain that the way student achievement is measured will be appropriate, given that it could be the basis for teachers losing their careers.= ="We are concerned about it because currently there aren't any student growth measures that exist that are designed to be valid and reliable for high stakes decisions like teacher compensation," said Matt Dotson, of the Ohio Education Association.= ="At this point there are just indicators of where students might need more intervention or diagnostics," Dotson said. "These tools have always been designed to help teachers, not punish teachers."= =And Dotson said their could be a huge backlash for the state in terms of being able to hire and retain well-qualified educators.= ="It certainly may undermine the ability to recruit and retain high quality teachers if they feel they are being compensated and evaluated in an unfair manner," Dotson said.= =The Ohio Federation of Teachers did not return a call for comment.= =Furthermore, Senate Bill 5 does not provide any extra incentive or pay for teachers who go back to school to earn advanced degrees such as a master's or doctorate. Currently, such degrees could mean higher salaries and bigger annual step increases.= =That is a factor that could still be worked out by the state board of education as it works on designing the program.= =Ohio's superintendent of education must develop and submit to the board that framework for how to evaluate teachers by April 30, 2012. By that same date, district superintendents must tell the state board how they plan to measure student achievement. It is possible districts will use different ways of assessing academic growth.= =The state board then must adopt a state framework for evaluating teachers by July 1, 2012. The district superintendents will then have to formally adopt a policy for their districts by July 1, 2013, to be implemented that fall -- about two years away.= =Still, the wildcard in all this is the possible referendum vote that could void Senate Bill 5. The law is enormously divisive politically and triggered large Statehouse protests by well-organized labor unions as the legislation moved through the legislature.= =Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, supported the intent of Senate Bill 5 from its inception, and the GOP-controlled Ohio Senate and House ushered it through the General Assembly. Kasich signed it on March 31.= =But since then, unions, with support from Democrats, have launched a drive to place a referendum on the November ballot that will ask voters to overturn Senate Bill 5, which has not yet become effective. Ohio teachers unions are among the most active supporters of the referendum.= =The unions are likely to get enough signatures for a referendum, which would hold up Senate Bill 5 at least until voters have a chance to decide on it.= = = = = = = = Previous stories = =Apr. 16: [|New collective bargaining law would have varying impact on school districts and cities, according to newspaper survey]= = = = Apr. 8: [|Two NE Ohio Democratic lawmakers to introduce bill allowing recall vote of governor; bill likely has no shot in GOP-controlled legislature] = = = = Apr. 6: [|Republican Senate Bill 5 critic removed from committee post] = = = = Apr. 4: [|Organized labor protests budget cuts (video)] = = Apr. 5: [|Organized labor protests budget cuts] = = = = Apr. 8: [|Conservative group denies it masterminded drive to restrict public employee unions] = = = = Apr. 4: [|SB 5 helps fulfill Kasich promise: PolitiFact Ohio] = = = = Mar. 29: [|Ohio House panel OKs collective bargaining overhaul bill] = = = = Mar. 29: [|Ohio House panel approves of changes to collective bargaining overhaul while Democrats look to referendum] = = = = Mar. 20: [|What's really in Senate Bill 5? Clearing up the rumors, misinformation surrounding collective bargaining overhaul] = = = = [|More about SB 5, the collective-bargaining bill] = = =

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