The debate over a national economic stimulus package includes a discussion about funding for our nation's public schools. Many Wisconsin school districts certainly could use an infusion of tax dollars. But the state's performance in a national study also would indicate that in return for federal dollars, it's time for Wisconsin and other states to take stricter measures to ensure money is being spent wisely on the people educating our children.
Wisconsin and nearly every other state did not fare well in a review and report released late last month by the National Council on Teacher Quality. The report revealed that states are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones. Only two states - Iowa and New Mexico - require any evidence that public school teachers are effective before granting them tenure.
Tenure is a status Wisconsin teachers receive after three years. It is not a job guarantee, but it makes it much more difficult for school boards to remove teachers from the classroom. The teacher quality council study found that most states do little or nothing to ensure teachers are effective before earning tenure.
In the teacher quality council's report, Wisconsin ranked in or near the bottom quarter of all states. The state received a "D-minus" for how it identifies effective teachers, a "D-plus" for retaining effective teachers, and a "D-minus" for firing ineffective teachers. Those grades are barely passable, and hardly acceptable.
"(Wisconsin) does not require any meaningful process to evaluate cumulative effectiveness in the classroom before teachers are awarded tenure," the report says. The council criticizes the state for only evaluating new instructors once, during their first year of teaching, and not having any procedures in place to follow-up on teachers that score poorly.
While each school district makes employment decisions on individual teachers, the state Legislature determines the processes districts use to determine tenure. Our state lawmakers ought to do more to ensure teachers meet rigorous standards before earning long-time job security.
And Wisconsin and federal lawmakers ought to do more to align teacher pay to performance. President Barack Obama has said he supports merit pay for public school teachers - which would reward high-performing teachers with better pay and penalize those who are underperforming. Making sure there is enough government funding to allow our schools to excel is vital to our nation's economic future. So, too, is ensuring that those who are doing the educating are qualified and effective.
Wisconsin and nearly every other state did not fare well in a review and report released late last month by the National Council on Teacher Quality. The report revealed that states are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones. Only two states - Iowa and New Mexico - require any evidence that public school teachers are effective before granting them tenure.
Tenure is a status Wisconsin teachers receive after three years. It is not a job guarantee, but it makes it much more difficult for school boards to remove teachers from the classroom. The teacher quality council study found that most states do little or nothing to ensure teachers are effective before earning tenure.
In the teacher quality council's report, Wisconsin ranked in or near the bottom quarter of all states. The state received a "D-minus" for how it identifies effective teachers, a "D-plus" for retaining effective teachers, and a "D-minus" for firing ineffective teachers. Those grades are barely passable, and hardly acceptable.
"(Wisconsin) does not require any meaningful process to evaluate cumulative effectiveness in the classroom before teachers are awarded tenure," the report says. The council criticizes the state for only evaluating new instructors once, during their first year of teaching, and not having any procedures in place to follow-up on teachers that score poorly.
While each school district makes employment decisions on individual teachers, the state Legislature determines the processes districts use to determine tenure. Our state lawmakers ought to do more to ensure teachers meet rigorous standards before earning long-time job security.
And Wisconsin and federal lawmakers ought to do more to align teacher pay to performance. President Barack Obama has said he supports merit pay for public school teachers - which would reward high-performing teachers with better pay and penalize those who are underperforming. Making sure there is enough government funding to allow our schools to excel is vital to our nation's economic future. So, too, is ensuring that those who are doing the educating are qualified and effective.
