Teaching at Risk: A Call to Action

[kristina.pelletier@maine.edu]

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The full article and Report http://www.theteachingcommission.org/


Recently the Teaching Commission issued a report: Teaching at Risk: A Call to
Action. It suggests some profound changes, including linking teacher pay with
student performance and giving principles ulitimate power to hire and fire. Are
these recommendations good for schools, teachers, and students? What are some
possible risks or concerns? Does it give teachers less or more pedagogy
freedom?

(The Commission's founder and chair is Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., Former IBM CEO.
The list of commissioners includes Sandra Feldman president of the American
Federation of Teachers, Barbara Bush, and of course, several corportate CEOs).


SOME OF THE BIG THEMES IN THE REPORT

The Commission calls for pay hikes for all teachers and for teacher compensation
and pay to what matters most-increased student performance.

"The Commission urges schools to rate teacher performance using a variety of
techniques including "value-added" methods that measure how individual teachers
influence learning for each child. The value-added approach takes into
consideration students' past performance and eliminates factors that regularly
excuse low student performance, such as poverty or family background." 

It urges the federal government to "tie continued funding of teacher education
programs to measures of success for graduates of these programs," and
emphasizes that "institutions that do not meet acceptable standards of
performance should no longer continue to receive federal funding."

"Empowering School Leaders as CEOs. The report points out that school districts
need to give principals ultimate say over personnel decisions, including the
hiring and dismissing of teachers. "