COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A bill creating a statewide evaluation system for teachers that ties their pay to students’ performance stalled Tuesday in the House, with opponents arguing it creates unnecessary confusion.
Former District of Columbia schools chancellor Michelle Rhee pushed for the bill, saying the Legislature must take a strong stand on the importance of effective teachers in the classroom. Effective teachers put students on a path to success, she said.
“If you pass this bill it will be a step in the right direction,” said Rhee, founder of Students First, which has a chapter in South Carolina.
She argued for a system that incorporates students’ progress into teacher evaluations and pays more money to those deemed highly effective.
But teacher advocacy groups opposed the measure, partly because two pay-for-performance pilot programs already are underway across the state - one by the state Education Department and the other by the state Association of School Administrators.
It doesn’t make sense to legislate another system when those have yet to be analyzed, said Kathy Maness of the Palmetto State Teacher Association.
Rep. Andy Patrick, R-Hilton Head Island, says his bill provides guidelines for evaluating teacher effectiveness, while providing districts with flexibility to create their own model.
But a second meeting Tuesday on Patrick’s bill in his subcommittee concluded with legislators adjourning debate, signaling a lack of support.
The state Department of Education hasn’t taken a stance on the issue. But the agency confirms that a statewide system is on target to be implemented next school year. The evaluations would not factor into employment decisions for a couple more years.
Evaluating educators based on performance is a required part of the state’s exemption from the all-or-nothing provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind law. Forty-nine schools in 13 districts statewide are testing Superintendent Mick Zais’ plan this school year. The federal Education Department approved it last March, disappointing educator groups that said it was unreliable and developed their own.
The state Board of Education must approve a plan before it goes statewide. Patrick has said his bill offers another process.
“This is an issue that can be dragged out for a very, very long time,” Rhee said. “There has to be an urgency. Your role is to ensure there are some clear time frames around which pilot programs have to go statewide impacting all kids.”
Maness contends the federal waiver doesn’t allow the process to drag out.
Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, said legislators lack the education expertise to develop a fair model.
“We can’t afford to make a decision on politics. They must be made based on children,” he said.
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