The Florida legislature passed a bill abolishing tenure and linking half their pay to student test scores.  I endorse the former (though I think teachers should have protections against unreasonable/retaliatory firings; for example, the type of process I’ve seen at every good charter school, where a teacher can appeal a termination to the board of directors); regarding the latter, I think it’s a critically important step to tie teachers’ pay (and advancement) to student learning but the devil’s in the details: there needs to be a rigorous, robust teacher evaluation system, of which a core pillar is a good testing system (not one that can be gamed by teaching to the test).  You’d think this wasn’t rocket science, but such systems are quite rare today…  Maybe I’m over thinking this: one could simply observe that because the unions are pulling out Ravitch to oppose it, it therefore must be a good bill!

Hailed as a national model by conservative academics and politicians, legislation that would make it easier to fire Florida teachers and link their pay to student test scores went to Gov. Charlie Crist in the wee hours of Friday morning after a marathon House debate that began Thursday night.

…"Florida is poised to lead the nation in crafting student policies," wrote economist Eric Hanushek of the Hoover Institution, a think tank at Stanford University. "This kind of precedent could sweep the nation."

Chester Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, said the bill includes "the kinds of far-reaching reforms" he and others on a Hoover Institution task force recommended when they evaluated steps Bush took as governor.

The Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union, fought back by distributing a letter to lawmakers urging the bill's defeat from Diane Ravitch, a professor at New York University and former assistant education secretary under President George H.W. Bush.

"I believe it will cause many of your best teachers to leave the profession or the state because this legislation is so profoundly disrespectful towards the education profession," Ravitch wrote.

The bill's advocates argued it would help attract and keep the best teachers by paying them more while getting rid of the bad ones.

It calls for school districts to adopt merit pay plans offering raises to teachers and school administrators according to evaluations based at least half on how much improvement their students have made on standardized tests.

Bad evaluations, though, could cost teachers their certification. It would abolish tenure for teachers hired after July 1. They'd only be able to get one-year contracts.

Here’s what The Education Gadfly wrote about it:

Testing Crist, too
The Florida education-reform spotlight is about to shift from the legislature to the governor's office, where Charlie Crist is probably going to have to decide, perhaps as early as tonight, whether to sign or veto the major "teacher reform" bill. (The state House is expected to pass it later today in the same form that already cleared the state Senate.) That measure would overhaul the Sunshine State's teacher compensation system, one key area in which Florida lost RTTT points in round one. Though it is bitterly opposed by the unions and their fellow travelers, the bill will certainly make Florida's education system stronger. It would, among other things, base half of teacher evaluations on student performance, eliminate automatic salary increases for graduate degrees or extra credentials, and drop teacher tenure altogether in favor of annual contracts. Yet Crist has lately hinted that he may put the kibosh on all of this. Could it be a result of the media firestorm surrounding the reforms, ignited and fanned by the predictable detractors? "Shame on any public servant who doesn't listen to the people," Crist told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. But which people? Is he listening only to adult interest groups or to the kids and parents crying out for excellent teachers? Gadfly profoundly hopes the governor doesn't wimp out on this test of his education-reform mettle.

"Crist hints he'll veto teacher merit pay bill," by Josh Hafenbeck, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 7, 2010

"Florida's merit-pay plan for teachers prompts debate," by Hannah Sampson and Kathleen McGrory, Miami Herald, April 3, 2010

"Merit pay bill gains momentum," by Lloyd Dunkelberger, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, April 6, 2010

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April 9, 2010

Conservatives Hail Fla. Teacher Bill as Model

By The Associated Press

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/04/09/345221flxgreducation_ap.html?tkn=ZVMFuJATmCKTTp%2FYbTmu8j1AzKcdMBnSbLeq&cmp=clp-edweek

Tallahassee, Fla.

Hailed as a national model by conservative academics and politicians, legislation that would make it easier to fire Florida teachers and link their pay to student test scores went to Gov. Charlie Crist in the wee hours of Friday morning after a marathon House debate that began Thursday night.

Business interests as well as most Republicans backed the bill that was opposed by teachers and their unions, local school officials and Democrats.

It passed 64-55 in the GOP-controlled House on a largely party-line vote at 2:26 a.m. The debate dragged on for more than eight hours although opponents acknowledged at the start they didn't have the votes to stop the bill from passing.

Crist, who's trailing tea party favorite Marco Rubio in a primary race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, once praised the measure (SB 6) but now says he's unsure if he'll sign it or buck his party's legislative leadership with a veto.

"There are things about it that I like and things about it that give me some concern," said Crist, who denied he's bending with the political winds. "I'm listening to the people of Florida, my boss."