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October 29, 2007
Can't Fool Me
Showing yet again that all discussion of education reform and pay-for-performance is brutally squelched on the Left, I just got an invite to a Center for American Progress panel on...education reform and pay-for-performance. For now, I'm assuming it's a trap.
October 29, 2007 | Permalink
Comments
Good assumption. Although CAP is clearly more grounded in reality than CATO, this isn't a solvable problem.
Let's assume that all well-meaning, informed folks agreed that teacher pay should be results-oriented. Then you have to haggle with the national/state/district/school control issue: who determines what the standards are, and how do you measure outputs to compare to the standards?
When parents realize their Jack and Jill might not make it into Princeton because the standards were incorrect or the teacher/tests were too effective in judging performance, all hell would break out.
The more I think about this issue, the more I think that faceless bureaucrats in high places (Paris or Tokyo, for instance) should be in control of the schools and not the local PTA or vocal parents. Or, conversely, the principle/teacher should be in sole control or what is taught.
Parents are bad for schools, in general - for non-minority students, and we don't have much evidence on parental control for residentially segregated minorities. School boards are worse. Local mayority/city councils doublegood worse. State legislatures are more worser, and Congress is imcompetent on this (and many other) topics.
Suggestion: just smile and say lots of things that have no content for the panel.
Posted by: JimPortlandOR | Oct 29, 2007 11:44:34 AM
I also put this in your open link thread, but I think you'd be interested in a new NYC pilot program for voluntary school-wide bonuses agreed to by the mayor and the NYC teachers union, the UFT.
Posted by: Steve | Oct 29, 2007 7:51:15 PM
Don't tell McMegan!
Posted by: bob | Oct 29, 2007 8:05:36 PM
