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| At the Enough is Enough Rally in Tallahassee |
The Best and Brightest Scholarship was initiated in 2015 as a $44 million bonus program aimed at rewarding the state's best teachers. The bill died in the Senate during the regular session, but the provision was added to the state's budget bill after the June 2015 special budget session. The bonus awards up to $10,000 to qualifying teachers, depending on the number of qualified teachers who applied. The legislation reads:
1012.731 The Florida Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship Program.—What solid research has linked a teacher's score on a college entrance exam to student success? I looked, but I could find no clear research that links a high school test score taken when a teacher was age 16 or 17 to teacher performance. Only in Florida would state legislators decide to reward teachers based on scores from college entrance exams when notable colleges and universities, such as George Washington University, are making the standardized test an optional admission requirement. Some teachers never even took the exams, but are award-winning teachers who year after year earn "highly effective" scores on their evaluations.
(1) The Legislature recognizes that, second only to parents, teachers play the most critical role in preparing students to achieve a high level of academic performance in school. The Legislature further recognizes that research has linked student outcomes to a teacher’s own academic achievement. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to designate teachers who have achieved high academic standards during their own education as Florida’s best and brightest teacher scholars.
Although there is no solid research correlating teacher college entrance exam scores and student achievement, there is real research that finds a correlation between teachers who are National Board Certified and students' achievement. Research shows that "students taught by Board-certified teachers learn more than students taught by other teachers." (Read here.) Unfortunately, Florida legislators cut the NBCT teacher bonus program years ago.
Florida's Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program paid for most of the $2,500 cost of pursuing the rigorous NCBT certification, awarded recognized NBCTs a 10% salary bonus, and awarded an additional 10% bonus to NBCTs who mentored other teachers. I was among the first group of Florida teachers who received NBCT certification in 1999. Having been part of this program, I can say it was the best professional development experience I ever had as a teacher. It greatly improved my teaching performance and also had a positive impact on those I mentored. It was disappointing to see the successful program end.
It is also interesting to note that current popular teacher evaluation systems, like the Marzano system, have mirrored or borrowed many of their elements from the foundational propositions of the NBCT program.
The researched-based Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program made sense. However, the criteria for the Best and Brightest Scholarship' is dumb and dumber:
- Score 80th percentile or higher on either the ACT or the SAT based on the rankings when the test was taken.
- Receive a highly effective evaluation on most recent evaluation or be a first year teacher with no evaluation.
- Submit scores to the teacher's district by October 1, 2015
The following are some elements I believe will ensure success in recruiting and retaining high quality teachers: Teachers must be respected as professionals and experts in their field. They should be provided a seat at the table with policy makers and others who make decisions about their profession. Teachers require the trust of their administrators, school boards and legislators – the trust that every day that they are in the classroom, they are putting their skills in action to benefit every child. Teachers deserve a salary and benefits that are reflective of their hard work and the number of hours it takes to complete all of the job-related tasks. They expect to be treated with dignity. Teachers must be provided with fair working conditions because we know that teachers' working conditions determine students' learning conditions. New teachers need to be mentored and guided. Teachers expect to be given the tools and resources needed to ensure that every student can reach their highest potential.
Aside from being based on faulty reasoning and inadequate research, the Best and Brightest Scholarship Program is discriminatory. Many of Florida's truly 'best and brightest' teachers do not even qualify for this ridiculous bonus that takes much-needed funds from our schools and students.
Those who did not qualify for this bonus include older teachers who completed the test before 1972 with no available percentile data; those who attended community or junior colleges that did not require the tests for entrance; veterans who attended under the GI Bill who were exempt from entrance exams; and teachers who graduated from colleges and universities in foreign counties.
The FEA filed a discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Florida Commission on Human Relations in opposition to this discriminatory, nonsensical legislation. The arguments that FEA put forth are sound.
Teachers need to let legislators know what we think of this scheme. FEA has provided a link where teachers can send a letter to legislators. Go to it here to be a voice for Florida's teachers, public schools and students!
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