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Legislators Meet to Hear Teacher Comments on Educator Evaluation, Student Testing, Pay for Performance and
Other Important Education Issues
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Legislators and State Board of Education Members Gather
On August 16, House Education Committee Chair Brooks Coleman and Representatives Randy Nix, Valencia Stovall, Valerie Clark, Tommy Benton, Beth Beskin, and Amy Carter were joined at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center by Sen. Lindsey Tippins and State Board of Education Member Mike Long to hear educators' concerns on testing, evaluations, merit pay and several other important issues. Also in attendance (but not participating) in the session were Reps. Penny Houston, Clay Pirkle, and Sam Watson and Sen. Greg Kirk. Merry Hunter Hipp, education advisor to Governor Deal, was also present.
Earlier in the day, the group of policymakers met with approximately 300 superintendents, local board members, and administrators from 4 - 5:30 pm to discuss many of the same issues. The teacher session ran from 6 - 8 pm with approximately 10 of those teachers in attendance offering comments to the policymakers.
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Governor's Education Reform Commission Recommendations Under the Spotlight
In the invitation to the event, legislators asked educators to come prepared to discuss the following questions.
- With a major emphasis, from the Governor's Ed Reform Commission, and the education community on the teaching of reading K-3 and Math K-5, we are interested in how you are teaching both subjects?
- BEST PRACTICES.......BARRIERS......OTHER SUGGESTIONS
- How can the state improve Teacher/Leader evaluations? The Governor's Ed Reform Commission is recommending differentiated pay/pay for performance. How best can this process be implemented?
- WHAT OBJECTIVE MEASURES CAN BE USED...... HOW SHOULD IT BE PHASED-IN?
- Are the changes made to testing in SB 364 sufficient?
- WHAT OTHER SUGGESTIONS DO YOU RECOMMEND?
- How do you think school climate can be improved?
- OTHER COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Three of the legislators present were members of Gov. Nathan Deal's Education Reform Commission, which issued its final report in late 2015 and stirred controversy due in part to its teacher compensation recommendations.
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Merit Pay, Testing, and State Takeover Amendment Blasted by Teachers
As has been the case in the previous listening sessions in Carrolton and Watkinsville, many of the teacher comments at the Tifton meeting centered on the controversial merit pay proposal which emerged as part of the Education Reform Commission's work in 2015. One of the speakers, a middle school band director from Houston County, cautioned legislators against linking teacher pay to test scores, citing the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal as an example of what could go wrong. Another speaker, a high school economics teacher, explained that merit pay would not increase test scores as several studies have shown. Instead, the state should focus on fully funding the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula in order to give teachers the resources they need to teach.
The most dominant theme of the night was that of consistency. Several educators asked legislators and other policymakers in the room to keep education policy consistent so that they can do their jobs. One teacher mentioned the standardized testing issues from the previous school years. She described how disheartened students were to learn that the scores from the tests they spent so much time and effort preparing for would not count. She went as far as saying that if the scores hurt educators, they should still count.
A special education teacher from Colquitt County explained that he would have prepared better remarks for policymakers, but he had spent his day working with some of the most special needs students in his school. He spoke on merit pay, testing, and evaluations. He also mentioned how the proposed state takeover amendment would strip control from local boards of education. The teacher expressed concern that the ballot language was extremely favorable for passage of the amendment.
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Reading and Math Instruction Practices Discussed
The first speaker of the night, a K-5 ESOL teacher from Savannah, described to legislators the effective programs she uses to teach her students reading. When asked by Chairman Coleman why a lot of students are lagging in reading, she answered that there is simply not enough time in the day for both students and educators to provide the one-on-one instruction necessary for struggling students.
In another line of questioning with the same teacher, Rep. Carter, herself an educator, asked for the teacher's opinions on early intervention programs (EIPs) as Rep. Carter hears from her teaching colleagues that they are frustrated by having students constantly pulled out of their classrooms. The teacher described how her current administrator scheduled an intervention block for every class at every level during which all students with an EIP, gifted, or other type of program requiring students to be pulled from the classroom are able to receive the one-on-one and small group instruction they need.
Next, SBOE member Mike Long asked the teacher how much technology is used in teaching reading. She replied that her students use reading and language computer programs for approximately 20 minutes a day, and she warned against too much focus on games, which could be detrimental to the progress of struggling students.
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Next Session Scheduled in Dublin
The next session is Tuesday, September 13 in Dublin. Stay tuned to our listserv for more information.
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