Tenure is gone for new teachers...pay will be tied to student test scores (FL)

[Still a Democrat]

Now the experiment begins.

Florida launched into a historic, high-stakes venture Thursday to see if radical changes to the teaching profession can boost student success.

In the spotlight: Senate Bill 736, a sweeping package signed by Gov. Rick Scott that dramatically alters how teachers are hired, fired, evaluated and paid.

More than two years in the making, the new law is one of the most far-reaching of its kind in the nation and one of the biggest shake-ups in the history of Florida public schools. Tenure is gone for new teachers, and contracts and pay will be tied to student test scores.

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k...ul/1159307

[Dagnabit]

Interesting...I would have to know much more about how all of this is tied to payscales to have a real idea of how this will effect the teachers and students but it will certainly be interesting to see how it pans out. I am glad I dont live in florida though.

[Ikonoklast]

And Good Luck to the state of Florida in attracting any teacher to a sub-standard district.

The only thing this plan will ensure is failure.

[Born_A_Truman]

Standardized test scores don't affect student's grades so there is no downside for a student grade-wise (at least here where my husband teaches). Also, here, for the first three years a teacher doesn't have to be invited back; no reason given.

[laurcunningham]

The only people that I see failing because of all of these changes will be the students. My childhood would have been drastically different if I had new teachers coming and going within my school. It's hard for teachers to get involved with their students if they're unaware of whether or not they'll even be there next year. It's hard for students to be able to trust teachers within their building if they're not familiar with them, and they keep changing. Our education system needs to change, yes, but I don't believe that punishing teachers and threatening them is going to make anything better, and/or make any student a better student. When adults are stressed about money and how they're going to pay their next set of bills, they're less likely to actively take interest in their students educations. When you're stressed, little things (like questions about a math problem, or having to go to the bathroom, or just being a kid...) start to get on your nerves faster and everyone fails.

I think what this country is doing is only going to make everything worse... but maybe I will be wrong. We'll see.