Student Success Equals Teacher Bonus

Many students’ state and national test scores are below-average, and teachers’ paychecks should suffer until educators are able to pull those scores up. Test scores alone should accurately represent the progress that has gone on in the classroom. Do educators and policy makers agree that assessment scores should determine how much teachers are paid? The resounding answer is no.

In 2007, at an NEA Representative Assembly, President Obama said, “if you excel at helping your students achieve success, your success will be valued and rewarded.” He also stated that success is “not based on some arbitrary test score.”

Success does not always come in the form of increased test scores. For example, many students are immersed in gang-related or drug-related lifestyles and are allured by the instant gratification of earning money without putting forth much effort or the comforting feeling of belonging to something. These students may have little to no interest in school and may perform at below-average levels because they have not been focused or inspired to learn. Passionate teachers may be able to connect with these students by creating engaging lessons and building the students’ confidence.

Dedicated teachers work diligently to prevent students from losing hope and dropping out. This perseverance may not be reflected in state or national assessments. School officials need to consider more than test scores alone. I have a proposition to make that I believe will allow for a more balanced assessment of student and teacher performance.

My idea is to have students complete weekly or bi-weekly open-ended written questionnaires. Students will provide information about how motivated they are to learn, whether or not they are completing all work to the best of their ability, and whether or not they find specific learning activities engaging and helpful or boring and a waste of time. Students and teachers can then collaborate and discuss possible adjustments that can be made to current instruction. These questions can be repeated throughout the school year and educators can store the results and refer to them periodically to track student progress.

These questionnaires allow educators to hear students’ voices, thus transforming students from passive listeners into active participants. Students will feel a sense of belonging as they are encouraged to critique and reflect on their learning experiences, and schools will have a new way to track student performance. If a teacher is able to cling onto his or her drug-dealers, gangsters, and teen mothers, these successes will be just as tangible as state and national assessment scores.

I am hopeful that these questionnaires will also encourage teachers to adjust instruction to meet students’ needs, rather than teachers simply preparing students for the state and national assessments. I believe that the combination of assessment and questionnaire results will more accurately depict successes or failures of educators than summative assessments alone.