Thoughts on Florida Merit Pay as a way to avoid working

I'm avoiding my work, which stinks right now, and even my research project, which has hit a major snag. Usually I can do one to avoid the other, but right now it is not the case. I'm kind of bummed, actually. I haven't been this exhausted from work since my first year of teaching.

So, I am procrastinating by looking at policy. No Child Left Behind is up for re-authorization. A senator commented that reauthorization is like a get-well card; you have good intentions, but it doesn't help the person out that much. So there's going to be a large fight with many lobbying groups represented over what a "Get Well, America's Schools" card should say. Can you imagine? I can see some interest groups arguing over the apostrophe. "America doesn't own the schools! Schools are local!" Or something like that.

Man, I am bummed! I have to keep writing, it will allow me to focus on other things.

Also, I found an article about merit pay for schools that should surprise no one. And it's in the Orlando Sentinel, the closest thing I have to a hometown newspaper in the closest thing I have to a hometown!

Woah, apparently there was a 12-car crash on I-4. Whoops.

Anyway, back to merit pay. According to the email:

"At Palm Lake Elementary, two out of three teachers earned a bonus through Orange County Public Schools' merit-pay plan.
At Richmond Heights Elementary, the number was zero.
Palm Lake is a predominantly white school in the affluent Dr. Phillips area.
Richmond Heights is a predominantly black school in a poverty-stricken pocket of Orlando."

Apparently the "Special Teachers are Rewarded" program should really be named the "Special Teachers of White Children are Rewarded, and Sometimes Hispanic Children." I guess STWCAR isn't really as good of an acronym as STAR.

Again, merit pay can be a good thing, I think. What Orange County has done, though, is provide more ammunition to those who are against it. This is merit pay poorly executed, and should not represent what it can do. Although I have to find some research supporting my position; I'm basing my argument that merit pay can be good on gut feeling, which is not scientifically accurate.

Oh, and our beloved Hanushek makes an appearance - the relatively famous (at least for eduwonks like me) economist of education.

"Eric Hanushek, a member of the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education, said he was surprised by Orange's results. The Koret panel analyzed Florida's education system last year.

Hanushek's own research shows that good teachers are mixed in at all kinds of schools, he said, so he can't account for the disparity or to what degree the state's formula, Orange's hiring practice or other issues influence the result."

Check out the article for yourself. I'd love to be on a "Task Force" for education. I also have several old posts on merit pay.

"Florida and Merit Pay." (2/12/07)
"Life School Balance." (2/19/07)

"Merit pay for teachers reveals sway of affluence." (Hobbes, E. The Orlando Sentinel. 9/9/07)