bend-la pine schools is committed to boosting achievement

The bend bulletin

By Ron Wilkinson, guest columnist
Bend, OR February 13, 2010

Race to the Top! Performance pay for teachers! Chalkboard CLASS project! Linking teacher performance to student test scores! Recent headlines and editorials around the state and nation have drawn public attention to one of the most important, yet difficult discussions for educators. What role should student performance results play in teacher evaluation, promotion and compensation?

As an educational leader, I am pleased that we are having the discussion and view this as an exciting time to be an educator. Our schools are performing at their highest levels in history and making gains each year, plus we are on the edge of breakthroughs that portend even better results for the future. All of us are faced with the challenge of doing more with less in school funding. However, the Chalkboard CLASS project and Oregon’s visionary efforts through its federal Race to the Top application are providing engagement in discussions on how to do an even better job in our schools.

One fundamental component of our work through the CLASS project is that it is a collaborative effort between classroom teachers, union representatives and district leaders. Our teachers unions are our close partners in this effort to find solutions for the future. Our success will come from the shared knowledge and perspectives that each individual brings to the table.

Our work is challenged by oversimplified solutions offered by non-educators. The idea of directly linking teacher evaluation and compensation to student performance may make a great political sound bite, but it also ignores much research that finds family income to have a higher correlation to individual student performance than the individual teacher. At the same time, research shows that of the factors we control, principal leadership and the quality of our teachers are most influential in student achievement. Therefore, we are committed to find ways to shift the focus of our teacher evaluation systems away from only looking at the input side of teaching, such as instructional strategies, classroom management, and use of instructional resources. We expect an objective review of student academic gains to be part of the evaluation process.

The CLASS project that Bend-La Pine Schools and four other districts in the region are involved, stresses design work around four important components that have the potential to significantly impact the teaching profession for the future. These components include expanded career pathways for teachers, effective performance evaluations, relevant professional development and new compensation models. Of highest priority for us is to find appropriate ways for including student performance results as a measure in evaluation, and to find appropriate and effective ways to incorporate that data in compensation models.

Individuals who believe that simply shifting to “merit pay” for teachers will have dramatic impacts on student performance ignore the fact that research is clear that teachers are far more motivated about seeing their students succeed than they are about financial rewards. If financial rewards were their major motivator, most teachers would have never entered the teaching profession. We are attempting to find ways to recognize student results as a factor in teacher advancement and compensation in ways that really motivate teachers.

We are committed to finding answers, but it is not as simple as some might suggest. However, recent statewide work on a uniform data system is helping to overcome some challenges of the past. The availability of accurate and objective student data in a timely manner to be used by teachers and administrators is essential. Clarity and uniformity of core content standards, improved assessment systems and dramatically improved data management systems all provide hope for the future.

We also must find ways to account for the multitude of variables that fall outside of the control of the teacher when comparing student performance results. Any teacher who has taught even two different classes will tell you that it is unrealistic to compare performance results without some control for variables. Likewise, we are looking for ways to incorporate the success of teams of teachers who are working with larger groups of students than a single classroom in the system we design. Our greatest school improvement gains in recent years have come when teachers are engaged in collaborative professional teams.

I am pleased that the work embedded in the Chalkboard CLASS project is being used as the foundation for much of the innovation and change that is envisioned in Oregon’s recent application for federal Race to the Top funding. It is clear that our region’s school districts are on the leading edge to both impact the direction of the work and reap the rewards. The next few years hold much potential for future success. I am excited that we are actively involved in this effort as it directly aligns with Bend-La Pine Schools’ commitment of providing “world class” schools throughout our district.

Ron Wilkinson is superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools.