Back in 2009 in D.C., the acceptance of the
IMPACT Evaluation System marked the start of what
Randi Weingarten now refers to as "results-based" unionism. IMPACT
drew national attention as one of the first attempts to link teacher pay and job security with classroom performance measured largely by student scores on high-stakes standardized tests. Weingarten's current new unionism approach calls for similar collaborations on merit pay and test-based teacher evaluation.
The D.C. Teachers Union went along with Michelle Rhee's plan, supposedly in order to gain a seat at the table and avert even more draconian measures. But even though the union leadership bought into IMPACT, many rank-and-file teachers opposed Rhee's mass firings in exchange for merit-pay for the teachers. Rhee's IMPACT
