Florida Educators in a Tizzy Over Merit Pay Plan

Posted by Greg Cruey Feb 23, 2006

February 23 - The public and educators in Florida are in something of a tizzy. The state's Board of Education passed a new pay plan for teachers Tuesday - a plan that provides bonuses based on student test scores and ties salaries for individual teachers to student achievement. The Orlando Sentinel broke the news Wednesday morning: board members meeting in Miami "voted unanimously for the plan," even though one state teacher's union was already opposing the plan in court. Among the most controversial components of the plan: teachers in each school district would have to be ranked on their performance. Teachers who are in their district's top 10% at the end of the year would receive a 5% bonus - and they'd keep getting the bonus if they stayed in the top 25% of their district's teachers. Performance would be measured by how well their students did on the FCAT - the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. And everyone from English and math teachers to art teachers and librarians would be ranked. Among the biggest concerns is the question of exactly how, under Effectiveness Compensation (or "E-Comp," as the plan is being called) school districts would arrive at a ranking for teachers whose content areas aren't tested by FCAT. Funding is another issue; E-Comp would cost the state an estimated $53 million a year. Today the Sentinel released a poll showing that Florida voters are against E-Comp by a two-to-one margin. performance based merit pay is an especially controversial issue for teachers whose students have disabilities.