Oppenhagen Column: Merit pay and testing

One thing about the Internet is that it's really easy to access news from all over the country, even all over the world. I belong to a couple of groups that go through national news clips and send out articles pertaining to that particular interest -- the environment, education, etc. There has been an uptick in the number of news stories about merit pay or performance pay (as it's starting to be called). One reason behind this interest in performance pay proposals is that states, in a Hail Mary attempt to get extra money from the federal government for education, are jumping on the performance pay bandwagon that is strongly supported by President Obama and his Education Secretary Arne Duncan. It makes good political and financial sense to do so. But does it make good educational sense? The answer to that is "it depends."

Test scores are the most politically popular instrument for judging how a teacher is doing. I understand it -- it's something that everyone can look at and make sense of. But one problem with using test scores is that test scores, like statistics, can be manipulated. Back in the day when the county had its CMS unit tests, some teachers would coach their students, have the students take a "study guide test" home (which looked remarkably similar to the CMS test), allow the students to use notes, etc. -- all so the kids would pass the test and the teacher would look good on paper. They knew that the county would be looking at those test results to compare schools and teachers. And that was a time when there was no money on the line, only reputation.

Another problem with using test scores is the way the test questions are worded. I am definitely in the minority when I say that I liked the CMS tests. They told me whether my students really understood the material I taught or whether they were just good at memorizing and taking tests. I am still in disbelief when a student looks at me and says, "those aren't the words we used." It is natural when a teacher creates their own test to use the same words that were in the lesson and notes. But the key to truly understanding is being able to use different words to get the same point across. Right now, I can say I would much rather have lower test scores but know which students can think; I won't be so generous when TIPA rolls out. (And, for the record, my principal isn't so generous, either.)

A third problem with using test scores is that many students come into the classroom ill-prepared for the subject. This is not as true in science (which has its own unique issues when looking at SOL test scores) as it is in Math and Language Arts. It is not at all unusual for a teacher to have a student in class who cannot read past a fourth grade level in the eighth grade or who has failed every Math SOL since third grade. For these teachers to be judged on "assumed" prior ability is not fair.

If not test scores though, then what? That is where the discussion becomes tricky and needs the input of teachers in order to be successful. One alternative being suggested is looking at student progress over the year. I could sign on to this idea, as could most of the teachers I know. Give the students a pretest -- what do they know now that they will need to know by the end of the year. Then, at the end of the year, give the students the same test. Determine whether the student learned something. This way, the teacher who brings a student from way below grade level to just slightly below grade level still gets that success recognized even though an SOL score might be non-passing. The problem with that, however, is that it costs money. Someone has to develop the test, make sure it's valid and then have students take and score it. It would also have to be a test that teachers do not see beforehand.

Fortunately, it is pretty well recognized that test scores alone would not be a good measure of a teacher's ability. But what other tools would be accurate and free of bias has yet to be determined. It will be an interesting discussion as we wind through this road not traveled. Stay tuned.

Denise Oppenhagen is a longtime resident of Prince William County and can be reached at DenOp1@comcast.net.