Down in the heart of Texas, everything is big--big sky, big land, big gambles, big lies, big cheating. Now the governor, Rick Perry, has kicked up the heat under the testing pressure cooker a notch, offering as much as a 25% raise to teachers for the right test scores.
Another one of those unproven reforms embraced by ED, whose insistence on evidence is limited to those reforms they would prefer not to prove, Perry could make a national reputation for himself if Texas can produce big test score gains without getting caught cheating. With a possible White House run in the offing, choosing the right auditing outfit for Texas schools will be critical. Wonder if there are some former Arthur Andersen guys hanging out around the courthouse looking for something to do?
Here are a couple of stories on the beginning of the new Texas mirage.
No doubt this is a terrible idea. As a teacher in Texas I hate the idea. (As with anything that has ever come out of Perry's pretty mouth)
ReplyDeleteHow can you honestly value an honor teacher's class testing over a level or co-taught below level class? Just silly.
Schedules change from year to year. It's simply silly to attach an overall score to a teacher's worth.
I am much more in favor of it being up to Administrators to dole out the bonuses as they see fit. Sure it would be a giant butt kissing affair, but such is life in corporate America as well. At least that would add some competition to the ranks.