“You’re fired!” Donald Trump breaks the heart of a different celebrity each week as he dramatically ends their time on The Celebrity Apprentice with his infamous phrase. His words are what many supporters of SB736 are hoping to hear more frequently during the upcoming years as the bill begins to take full effect. Signed into law by Governor Rick Scott on 03.25.11, the “Student Success Act” aims to place more focus on standardized assessments and teacher accountability. Additionally, schools are mandated to frequently evaluate their teachers and classify them as being: highly effective, effective, needs improvement, or unsatisfactory. 50% of the teacher’s evaluation will be based on their students’ performance on the FCAT and will then be directly tied to the teacher’s salary. Additional provisions are provided for the systematic removal of teachers who are deemed to be 'ineffective.'
Many contradictions exist within the bill and many questions are still left to be answered. Will it be possible for school-based leaders to maintain meaningful and effective relationships with teachers while simultaneously fulfilling multiple roles to remain in compliance? If districts are afforded opportunities to create their own testing instruments, how does the state plan to establish continuity and rigor throughout? Does creating a culture of fear in which teachers feel compelled to teach in a style reflective of the checklist used to evaluate them actually lead to learning gains and an increase in student achievement?
Only time will tell what the true consequences of this legislation will be. Until then, I plan to examine the reactions to this legislation and explore the potential consequences for school leaders. While much attention has been given to the effects teachers will face, many have failed to acknowledge how this will affect school leaders. I plan to thoroughly examine the current legislation and make comparisons to (vetoed) SB6 in addition to blogs, newspapers articles, journal articles, and anything else I can get my hands on. I’m also interested to report on whether SB6 informed the writing of SB736. Is it simply a wolf in sheep’s clothing? In the meantime, I hope I don’t come across any principals practicing their best impression of ‘The Donald” in the mirror while preparing for a ‘meeting’ with one of their teachers.
This should be a very interesting policy piece. Your leanings are clear, so you will have to figure out a way to check those as you look into the issues (trust me, I know that is challenging). Sometimes I think that is why blogging is a good thing. As you discuss your feelings towards a policy, you begin to realize where your bias is and consider how to handle it in your research. Love "The Donald" concept!
ReplyDeleteHi Erin,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read SB736, I noticed that indeed, administrators would also be held accountable for choosing and retaining "effective" teachers. Therefore, administrator evaluation is definitely an area we need to consider. I did see many responses from teachers and teacher unions when Dr. King and I worked on this the first day of class. However, I didn't come across many news articles from an administration standpoint.
I will be eager to see what you come up with.
Patriann