D.C. program ties teacher salaries to student test scores

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57556635/d.c-program-ties-teacher-salaries-to-student-test-scores/

CBS News) WASHINGTON - Parents and school boards across the country are debating whether to offer bonuses to teachers whose students do well on standardized tests. We look at how the bonus is working in the first city to try the idea.

 Tenth-grader Lennard Long attends a public high school in Washington, D.C., where his mom Leticia used to be frustrated that there were no teacher evaluations.

 "Parents would say they didn't think was a good teacher, but you didn't have an idea why. They weren't evaluated and there wasn't anything for us to determine why," she said.

 Test scores here ranked among the worst in the nation, even though the district was spending more per pupil than most large U.S. cities -- almost $13,000 per student.

if that is true why are they closing so many schools and why are their so many dilapidated one's? where does that 13 grand go can't be all lunches?

 But in 2009, Washington D.C. became first in the nation to tie teacher salaries to student test scores under a program called "IMPACT." Teachers rated highly effective can get annual bonuses up to $25,000. If they stay at that achievement level for two straight years, they can also get a base salary increase of $20,000.

  This year, 98 teachers were fired for poor performance. But Nathan Saunders, president of the Washington teachers union, says the system is unfair to teachers when many of their students have barriers to learning, such as poverty.

"The penalties are so immediate and so painful," he said, "not just immediate in terms of paycheck, but also immediate in terms of their careers."

In Washington, test scores are still among the lowest in the nation but improved slightly: up 2.8 percent in math, 5.3 percent in science, and 0.5 percent in reading.

 this is what the Pres. wants to correct with his education plans but republicans Romney "don't need more teachers", why because then we'll stay dumb down and at their command? they also said there was no need to hire more public workers you know police, firefighters, waste that kinda stuff we've come to rely on.
 i think incentives draw a better caliber of teacher but teachers are subject to bigotry too. and do discriminate within the classroom the degradation of students of color create the defeatist attitude too many have today.

The pressure for good grades is high. "Grades can determine your future, and if you fail this then you're not going on to college, you're going to work at McDonald's and live out of a car," said high school student Spike

"....This story comes out of Kentucky where a South Laurel High School teacher, Ms. Kendra Baker wrote on the top of her school board all nice and pur-ty, “You can’t be a democrat & go to heaven.”

this is what i mean, teachers can be bigoted too.