Race to the Top? Not so fast
However, I was frustrated by his statement in agreeing with “legitimate weaknesses’’ federal regulators found in Massachusetts’ Race to the Top grant application: “Teachers unions are too quick to resist linking teacher evaluations to student performances in statewide tests.’’
Doesn’t he know that the Massachusetts Teachers Association and many teachers unions, including the Cambridge Teachers Association, of which I am a member, signed on to the state’s application, specifically because we wanted to be part of the conversation? How does that desire to collaborate translate to being “quick to resist’’?
Moreover, I have thought about merit pay often in my career. I reject it in its simplest form, not because I am “quick’’ in my assessment, but because I have yet to find research that supports the claim that it improves student achievement.
How will teachers of non-tested subject areas be rewarded, as they can have a subtle yet powerful impact on student success? Couldn’t merit pay create an insidious incentive to shuttle the most difficult students between classes and schools? Mightn’t it risk eroding effective collaboration if one teacher is perceived
