Source: News & Observer
The North Carolina State Board of Education voted during their December monthly meeting to move forward with a pilot program of a recently proposed licensure and pay model for teachers, according to the News & Observer.
State Education leaders unanimously approved a motion that calls for identifying the changes to state rules, policies and laws that are needed in order to make the performance pay model possible, as well as requiring a field test of the new system before it could be implemented statewide.
Critics, such as the North Carolina Association of Educators, have pointed out that this proposed model boils down to a merit pay system that would not accurately reflect the work of teachers and would cause many to leave the profession.
Instead of paying based on experience, this new model would link pay to the license the teacher holds; while it would raise teacher pay overall, but would do this by placing teachers into a tiered system in which only certain tiers of teachers would be eligible for further raises.
Furthermore, teachers would receive performance reviews directly related to their license status and would evaluate for “effectiveness.” Review for the effectiveness of teachers would rely on student test scores, student growth, or an entirely new evaluation system.
It is still up to the NC General Assembly whether or not they would be providing more funding for the program.
