What Texas Testing Giveth, Texas Testing Taketh Away

From the Dallas Morning News:

AUSTIN – More than half of the 1,150 Texas schools rewarded in the first year of the landmark teacher pay-for-performance plan have fallen out of the program this year, mostly because they failed to maintain their performance ratings as passing standards went up.

Just 501 of the campuses that participated in the Texas Educator Excellence Grants program last year are also eligible in 2007-08. An additional 675 or so will have to terminate the bonus payments, ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 per teacher.

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"How effective can a merit pay system be ... where teachers have to think what is here today could be gone tomorrow?" Mr. Kouri said. "Essentially, folks are still doing the same things at schools, and sometimes they get money for it – sometimes they don't." . . .