Education Secretary Arne Duncan borrowed the Obama campaign theme Thursday in a tough-love speech to the nation’s largest teachers union, telling educators that they must be willing to change their ways, specifically around the issue of merit pay.
“It’s not enough to focus only on issues like job security, tenure, compensation and evaluation. You must become full partners and leaders in education reform. You and I must be willing to change,” Duncan said at the annual meeting of the National Education Association in San Diego. “I ask you to join President Obama and me in a new commitment to results that recognizes and rewards success in the classroom and is rooted in our common obligation to children.”
Duncan, former head of Chicago schools, said that the administration is working with Congress to ask for more money to develop teacher compensation programs tied to test scores, teacher evaluations, and extra work. The administration has allotted $100 billion in stimulus funds to prevent teacher layoffs and support education reform initiatives, such as innovative teaching, charter schools, and merit pay programs.
Unions have been vocal opponents of linking teacher pay to test scores, saying that the work of a teacher can’t be reduced to tests, which can sometimes be biased.
Duncan acknowledged this position, yet said that student performance must be a part of the equation when measuring teacher effectiveness.
“I understand that tests are far from perfect....
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