As part of our Race to the Top carrot chase a new teacher evaluation system was put in place. This is not anything new. We created the TLE commission to oversee this new process. The evaluation system has three moving parts. It has the supervisor evaluation making up 50% of the evaluation. Then you have a section called Other Academic Measures. This section is more of whole school items like attendance. Which basically means 15% on things a teacher can't control. The last 35% is worse. It is based off of individual student testing. It is suppose to measure some component of individual kid's growth on tests. For a teacher who has subjects that are in the state testing wheel house that component is called a VAM, value added model. For a teacher in a non state testing subject it is called an SLO, student learning objective. If an employee is a counselor they have a SOO, student outcome objective.
Here's my two cents. We have a 800 teacher shortage. Which is probably low and also doesn't include the other support jobs that Oklahoma public schools have been forced to cut as well. Teachers have been beaten up with how they are lazy, overpaid, underperforming. So now we will set up a system where some teachers get to set a locally decided SLO to see if they are achieving "adequate growth" or some will get a state set VAM on their tests that have had numerous problems the last few years. It sets up a two tier system which is not fair. Both may be evaluated for growth, but not the same way and with the same instrument. It just makes no sense. It will lead to more disgruntled teachers. We have a tough time finding Math, Science, and Special Ed teachers. The last few years, it was tough to find any teachers. This does not help the problem.
Here are few unintended consequences from this 35% part. Why would you teach in an area of low socioeconomic students? Why would you teach in an area with a high concentration of special education students? Why would you teach in an area of a lot of limited language students? These are the students who need the most help typically. They need the best of the best. The TLE calls for dismissal of a teacher with two years of bad overall evaluations. Why risk it when there is no reward? Does a $2,000 raise make it worth it to lose your job based on a student's test score? Here is the other thing this does. You remember that administration cost thing you always here the legislature screaming about? Guess how many reports, meetings, and paperwork it takes to make this 35% work. I really hope this is an area the legislature and the State Department of Education look at as a way to combat the teacher shortage. This is definitely an area that needs to be local control.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Friday, November 14, 2014
You Said What In That Interim Study?
This time of year the Oklahoma Legislature has Interim Studies. Some of these amount to a lot, sometimes nothing. But what they are good for is to see where some in the legislature sit or how well they grasp things on a certain topic. One of the legislative studies looked at consolidating the Administrative jobs of Oklahoma Public Schools. Making more of a regional administration.
This is the typical gripe of legislators in Oklahoma. If you ever say anything about funding they talk about money going to administration that "Is Not Getting To The Classroom". It's an Old clique. "Superintendents are overpaid" is another good one. Let's look at some facts, though.
In Oklahoma administration costs are capped. Yea, let me say that again, they are capped. My school can't pay for administration cost that are over 8%. That includes more than just the superintendent. That includes his secretary, treasurer, and staff that supports those two. In Oklahoma administration costs in the state are 3.2% of all spending. Oklahoma Superintendents make about on average 3 to 4 times the average teacher salary for a management type position (remember this number please). The legislature won't want to accept this, but a big portion of this is their fault. In the last few years the legislature has passed several bills that made Oklahoma Public Schools increase the number of administrators it need to perform the duties they required of public schools. With the passage of mandatory thrid grade retention comes paperwork, documentation. When you more than double the time and paperwork of teacher evaluations that takes time, effort, people. Increased documentation requires additional secretaries as well. When you increase testing and increase class loads you require more personnel.
So these same legislators who gripe about administration costs pass legislation to increase the number of administrators it takes to perform the tasks they require. Then get this, they say the regional superintendents would save the state $40-$50 million per year, I won't get into how it won't save that much I will save that for another post next week. That $40-$50 million would give teachers, maybe a $750 raise each year. These same legislators give out $500 million in tax credits each year to business executives who make way more than 3 to 4 times their average employee. In fact, in the United States the typical CEO makes over 400 times more than its typical employees. So is the real problem administrator pay or how the legislators give money away and pass legislation that isn't always in the best interest of public schools?
Let me clarify a few things before I go eat some stew and warm up. I think there are some over paid superintendents. I think there are some really great legislators who work hard to make this state great. This study may go nowhere and be the voice of a small minority of legislators, but they spent money on the study. Some refuse to look at their practices and decisions. Schools don't work on their own. We are a public entity. We do what we are legislated to do. Is 3% of total spending where we really need to look to find teacher pay raises and address the 800 teacher shortage? No, it's not, what it takes is the group on Lincoln looking at what they have done the last few years. Saying maybe we have made some mistakes and we are willing to fix them for the betterment of our state and its children. In the spirit of the holiday I will hope and believe!!
This is the typical gripe of legislators in Oklahoma. If you ever say anything about funding they talk about money going to administration that "Is Not Getting To The Classroom". It's an Old clique. "Superintendents are overpaid" is another good one. Let's look at some facts, though.
In Oklahoma administration costs are capped. Yea, let me say that again, they are capped. My school can't pay for administration cost that are over 8%. That includes more than just the superintendent. That includes his secretary, treasurer, and staff that supports those two. In Oklahoma administration costs in the state are 3.2% of all spending. Oklahoma Superintendents make about on average 3 to 4 times the average teacher salary for a management type position (remember this number please). The legislature won't want to accept this, but a big portion of this is their fault. In the last few years the legislature has passed several bills that made Oklahoma Public Schools increase the number of administrators it need to perform the duties they required of public schools. With the passage of mandatory thrid grade retention comes paperwork, documentation. When you more than double the time and paperwork of teacher evaluations that takes time, effort, people. Increased documentation requires additional secretaries as well. When you increase testing and increase class loads you require more personnel.
So these same legislators who gripe about administration costs pass legislation to increase the number of administrators it takes to perform the tasks they require. Then get this, they say the regional superintendents would save the state $40-$50 million per year, I won't get into how it won't save that much I will save that for another post next week. That $40-$50 million would give teachers, maybe a $750 raise each year. These same legislators give out $500 million in tax credits each year to business executives who make way more than 3 to 4 times their average employee. In fact, in the United States the typical CEO makes over 400 times more than its typical employees. So is the real problem administrator pay or how the legislators give money away and pass legislation that isn't always in the best interest of public schools?
Let me clarify a few things before I go eat some stew and warm up. I think there are some over paid superintendents. I think there are some really great legislators who work hard to make this state great. This study may go nowhere and be the voice of a small minority of legislators, but they spent money on the study. Some refuse to look at their practices and decisions. Schools don't work on their own. We are a public entity. We do what we are legislated to do. Is 3% of total spending where we really need to look to find teacher pay raises and address the 800 teacher shortage? No, it's not, what it takes is the group on Lincoln looking at what they have done the last few years. Saying maybe we have made some mistakes and we are willing to fix them for the betterment of our state and its children. In the spirit of the holiday I will hope and believe!!
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