Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels believes that teacher quality is the number one school-based factor in student achievement; it's a priority power point in the governor's discussion of his legislative agenda for the coming session.
As such, Daniels and state school superintendent Tony Bennett believe that Indiana must change the way teachers are evaluated and paid. It is one of the key proposals that will be put before the legislature when it convenes on Jan. 5.
The only thing Hoosiers and their lawmakers need now to begin deliberating a proposal sure to rile many in the teaching profession is the details.
Daniels and Bennett on Wednesday shed some light on the governor's ambitious education package to the Indiana Eduction Roundtable, a group of state education, government and business leaders.
Other proposals, also lacking in key details, include greater local control in evaluating teachers, college scholarships to encourage early high school graduation, vouchers to send public school children to private schools, and linking per-pupil funding to the number of students actually attending a school. Not all of these ideas were discussed at the roundtable, but they are known to be a part of the Daniels/Bennett education agenda for 2011.
Two ideas that were discussed and received the blessing of the roundtable were basing teacher pay on student achievement and offering accelerated graduation opportunites to high school students.
Of course, Bennett created a stir earlier this year when he proposed merit pay, that annual teacher evaluations be based on the performance of students, and from there, teachers' pay be linked to that student performance.
Bennett said then that merit pay makes more sense than basing teacher pay on how long a teacher has been in the classroom and how many degrees the teacher possesses.
It occurred to us then, as it does today, that there is merit in the proposal to pay teachers for the achievements in their classrooms, but so radical is the proposed change that it should be approached cautiously and in steps. And that may fit in with what Daniels is talking about.
According to Eric Bradner of the Courier & Press Capital Bureau, Daniels said he envisions giving school districts a great degree of control in deciding exactly how to conduct teacher evaluations.
He said the state could set some standards and districts would then decide how to apply those standards.
Also, by allowing schools latitude in conducting teacher evaluations, it would give them an opportunity to learn from those districts that move ahead. Most important, we believe, is that this approach be tried first in a few districts.
To many of us, merit pay makes sense. We see it used in our own non-school work places, and it is an accepted practice for deciding pay and promotions. But nothing is to be lost if it is tried first in limited districts on a trial basis.
Other pieces of the Daniels/Bennett education reform package are sure to invite debate as well. The choice proposal which would allow vouchers for private schools, and the early graduation scholarship, which might draw precious dollars away from the school funding formula, are sure to ignite debate from the Ohio River to Lake Michigan.
That's okay. Daniels, with only two years left in office, is thinking bold, looking for a reform package that would elevate the performance of Indiana schools. Let's talk.
Indeed, this is a conversation that Hoosiers need to have.