Should your pay be determined by your students' test scores?

The proposed pay-for-performance piece is emerging as one of the major questions as Congress moves forward with controversial plans to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act.

Both of NYSUT's national affiliates, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, are opposed to any federal mandate requiring the use of student test scores to determine whether a teacher should get incentive pay.

"Student achievement should be measured by more than test scores," said NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi. "Mandating that compensation be tied to test scores - especially those everyone agrees are not accurate measures of student progress - is absurd."

Teachers don't oppose performance pay if it's collectively bargained at the local level, according to Pittsford TA's Dan Sanfratello, a NYSUT political action committee coordinator who recently went to Washington, D.C., as part of a lobby day.

"It could be part of a negotiated teacher evaluation system," he said. "However, you certainly wouldn't want student test scores to be the sole criterion."

Pay-for-performance is one of many thorny revisions under consideration in the reauthorization.

Responding to a statewide call to action, union activists have sent nearly 15,000 faxes to New York congressional representatives, urging them to slow down the rush to reauthorize and make meaningful changes. (To send a fax, go to nysut.org and click on the Legislative Action Center.)

Activists have made it clear to Congress that the reauthorized NCLB must be fully funded and and that provisions for adequate yearly progress, or AYP, must be fixed to truly reflect how schools are performing. The current draft reauthorization would put more mandates on state and local school districts, without assuring that funds will be provided to help schools improve.

To help close the achievement gap and to ensure that, indeed, no child is left behind, Congress must recognize the need to reduce class sizes; increase the training and retention of highly qualified teachers; expand access to early childhood education programs; and provide adequate funding for safe schools, improved facilities and materials.

Iannuzzi said the grassroots lobbying of New York's congressional delegation has already helped to slow the rushed timetable initially proposed by House leaders.

Debate in the Senate appears to be more hopeful for educators.

The Improving Student Testing Act of 2007 (S.2053) sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and the No Child Left Behind Reform Act (S.1194) sponsored by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) are promising, according to NEA and AFT.

Both bills would make significant changes to measurement of student performance and school success, including allowing states to use growth models and multiple measures and ending the over-reliance on test scores.

NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin said both bills have NEA and AFT support, but they need additional sponsorship. Both national affiliates are urging union activists to lobby their senators to sign on to each of these bills.

Take action

This week, Oct. 15-19, NYSUT is urging members to join AFT's congressional call-in to let federal lawmakers hear from those in the classroom. Call (866) 327-8670 and an operator will ask you to identify your representative and senators. You can determine your elected officials at NYSUT's online Legislative Action Center. "Our congressional representatives need to keep hearing from us, to give them the reality of NCLB," Lubin said.

- Sylvia Saunders