They should be using it all over the nation. It's an excellent tool. Just because yolu hadn't heard about it doesn't make me full of anything. They even started teaching it in college.Teachers are being tested using the Praxis system. An evaluator will come in and watch the teacher, Then they would write a report examining how the teacher kept the students focused, provided for individua; differences, performed well with discipline, an array of skills. It was meant to evaluate teachers as well. as finding those teachers whop need more skills.It doesn't matter how much you are paid if you turn out a shitty product. I believe in merit pay.Excellent post. There are a few points I sgould comment on, however. There are programs in some schools that do mentor new teachers and recommend future contracts or firing afrer one year of monitoring. There is also another program where teachers lacking in the skills are mentored and can be fired as well even if they are under contract.
You are absolutely right about teacher unions. The president of AFT once said, "I'll care about the kids when they pay me my salary." So it is not about improving education or improving teacher skills (usually). It's the almighty dollar. Don't get me wrong. Teacher's do need a voice in wage negotiations, but it's generally not the union that cares about making the best teachers.
Oh, please! Not that old worn out line!
Do truck drivers have the Teamster's Union designing trucks? I guess they don't care about their employment. Unions represent teachers just like the United Mine Workers represents miners. They don't care about the quality of the coal they are mining and how much it impacts global warming.
Why do you morons ascribe duties to teacher's unions that are not expected by any other union?
OK, let's see your ideas on merit pay. I had a professor in graduate school who wrote a book after doing years and years of research saying that merit pay is impossible to make fair to the teachers. Someone will always lose.
I finish an assignment tomorrow where the teacher has six classes. One is full of behavior problems and they are far behind the other classes. Another class is a collaborative special ed/regular ed class. They are also far behind the other 4 regular ed classes.
How will you design a system of merit pay to treat that special ed teacher and that regular ed teacher equally?
No, teachers are not being tested using the Praxis system. I knew you were full of shit! I never took a Praxis test and would not recognize one if I tripped over it.
Are you sure you aren't a first year education student, because that is about what you seem to know about the topic?