Thread by @JustinParmenter

NC educators, please take the time to read this article about a plan coming before the State Board of Education next week which would transition all North Carolina teachers to a system of “merit pay” as soon as 2023. #nced #ncpol #ncga

newsobserver.com/news/local/edu…

This would make North Carolina the first state in the country to stop paying teachers on an experience-based scale that rewards long-term commitment to a career in education and recognizes the importance of veteran educators to a school.

At the center of this plan is the notion that a computer algorithm can accurately measure the value a teacher adds to his/her students' learning just by analyzing standardized test scores.

This plan is problematic in many ways. It would increase "teaching to the test," and competition over a limited number of larger salaries would lead to teachers working in silos rather than collaborating and sharing best practices as cohesive teams.

The folks at DPI who are pushing this plan claim that teacher effectiveness plateaus after the first few years, so it doesn't make sense to pay veteran teachers more.

It's a claim which shows a major disconnect between DPI and those of us who actually work in schools.

EVAAS scores aside, veteran teachers work as mentors, run athletic departments, coach sports and deliver professional development for peers.

They have long-standing relationships with school families and community members that position them to be excellent advocates for the needs of their schools.

The head of pro-business education reform organization Best NC, who has long been a proponent of jettisoning an experience-based pay scale, says our current system isn't working, and it's time to be "bold" about change.

It's true that North Carolina is facing a major pipeline crisis, with enrollment in UNC education programs down drastically over the past several years. It's true that if we aren't bold about change we will soon have nobody left who's willing to work in our schools

But we also need to be bold about acknowledging the reason for this crisis. It isn't because the licensure process is too cumbersome. It isn't because veteran teachers are ineffective and making too much money.

It's because for the last 12 years our legislature's policies have made it deeply unappealing to be a teacher in North Carolina. Cutting master's pay, taking away teacher assistants, eliminating retiree health benefits, the list goes on and on.

The solution to that problem isn't a system of merit pay which ties your salary to standardized tests with many external factors beyond the teacher's control, and it isn't making it easier to get a teaching license.

The solution to the problem is policy change that makes committing your life to serving North Carolina's children in public schools an attractive proposition.

How about we do it like Mississippi, where a Republican-led state legislature and Republican governor just gave educators a 10% pay raise? #nced

pbs.org/newshour/educa…

Wherever you land on this issue, I hope you’ll consider being a part of some really robust public dialogue about it.

This is too important an issue to stay out of, especially if you’re a professional educator who will be personally impacted.