Florida Merit Award Program - Term Paper Example

? Florida merit award program evaluation Contents Strengths of the program 2. Weaknesses of the program 3. Recommendations 4. Conclusion 5. References Strengths of the program It responds to the expectation of the people that states have the responsibility to persuade students pursue their education to college and support families (teachers’ and administrators’ families) meet the costs of education (Buddin et al, 2007). It promotes essential objectives of the state such as developing individuals who are well educated and producing a highly skilled work force (teachers and administrators). The program can be well understood. The process of application and the structure of award are clearly defined. Eligibility and requirements of renewal are also very clear. It enhances and promotes improved performance in colleges. The program pressurizes teachers to achieve highly so as they can continuously get their awards (Buddin et al, 2007). The program also motivates teachers. Research indicates that an increase of one percent of salary may increase the performance of a teacher by about two percent. However, providing bonuses for good performance is more effective as compared to automatic pay rise since it can elevate the performance of a teacher to as much as nineteen percent. Merit award program attracts qualified applicants or candidates to the profession of teaching, since incomes vary largely and have a basis on the strength of local teachers unions and local tax revenue. The results received are positive. The program enhances high productivity or increased work quality as result of teachers working harder than expected. If teachers work consistently in strives to acquire merit pay increases, then the cumulative impact for the schools would be healthier than before (PEPC Report, 1999). School boards and superintendents are engaged in debates about the program. Instructional personnel who are part of teaching fraternity but not really teachers, or a group of teachers who tirelessly provide necessary instructions for students are also co-operated in the program. The program provides pay for teams or groups of teachers. The state now awards teachers’ salary on the basis of district’s average instead of individual teacher salary. It puts consideration on a variety of teacher performance measures. A combination of benefits gained by the student and the evaluations of the principal are used to assess the performance of the teacher. It increased the size of the award for teachers with less experience and low income. This was to motivate them to work harder than before. The district experiences a lot of flexibility to identify the section of teachers who should be awarded. The program offers enough time for the districts’ analysis of achievement data. For instance, teacher performance awards in the academic 2007-2008 were given as from 1st of July, 2008. This gave the districts enough time to analyze the students the achievement data for students, make a list of teachers to be awarded and distribute the awards. Weaknesses of the program The prospects for the Florida merit award program are not promising regardless of the anticipation through theoretical and empirical reasons that the program would generate positive results students which are to be used to measure teacher performance. Since the implementation of education reforms is done in a political setting, the potential of teacher merit award is not a reality. Whatever gains that may be generated from this program; those gains might not be realized due to the same implementation challenge that results in many other reforms. That is, when a reform in education possesses the theoretical potential for achievement, for that very reason, it will be alleged to be threatening to the established interests. The outcome is the very interests will give their resources, time and energy to diluting or blocking the reform, instead of enhancing its implementation on an extensive and exact basis. If the educational reform fails to deal with the political power of the established interests to dilute or block that reform, then the destiny of the reform is disappointment (Buck & Greene, 2010). Teacher merit award may be blocked. Teacher unions have always had the ability to block the enactment of the merit award. If these unions fail to block a merit award program from being enacted, then they always have the capability to make sure that the program is not long-term, or they make the program the first to be ruled out in the times of tight budget. Though the teacher merit award may be put into existence on the basis of a statewide, still the unions have ability to forbid local districts from supporting the program. So far, only a few districts of Florida State get involved in merit award, even though the program of the state would make available free monetary capital for them. Other political victories got by the unions involve programs which tend to provide large amount of money for graduate degrees rather than for improvement of the performance of students, or those programs that become so diluted that they reward a vast number of teachers (Buck& Greene, 2010). The program tries to recreate a market system within a squeeze-controlled state monopoly. This objective can not be achieved; it is burdened with risk. However much the wise and renowned actors of the state may achieve in getting the incentives right in time at a specific moment in a specific place, their deeds and efforts can be ruled out by their immediate successors. These successors may be affected by the strong special interests with the intention of blocking teacher merit awards, loosening the standards, or misusing the term “teacher merit pay or award” while giving rewards for the action that has no link to actual or real success (Buck & Greene, 2010). It enhances shifting of public resources from the lower-income families to middle and upper income-families; teachers fall in middle-income families. Research indicates that lotteries, the major source of funds for the support of this program, are played by individuals getting lower income, but the recipients of scholarship tend to come from higher income bands. It may result to inflation of grade at the secondary and tertiary levels as teachers use all means to make sure the students they teach get high marks that will make them (teachers) qualify for merit awards (PEPC Report, 1999). Recommendations The Florida merit award program was set on the basis of certain prospects which seemed to be very promising, despite the theoretical and empirical reasons for anticipating the failure of the program to produce good results for the students (PEPC Report, 1999). Differentiating the pay for teachers or tutors by valid merit measures would break apart the one-mind political front which develops the strength of these established interests. Teachers who receive improved salaries and working conditions as a result of their efforts, in stead of the efforts of their affiliated politicians or organized representatives, can attract the attention of more effective teachers to realize the purpose of contributing towards the support of the unions in either way, financial or political. Those teachers who are less effective would also grow interest in contributing for unions’ support if serious award programs were implemented (PEPC Report, 1999). Though there is little research to solely conclude on the identification of relevant elements of an achieved differential pay program, evidence from practice, policy and research show that there are some elements of differential pay program which reinforce structure achievement. The following are Florida policy recommendations: The program should involve differential pay policies in an extensive strategy for changing the recruitment, evaluation, training, compensation and retaining of teachers. In order to come up with a good strategy for improvement of the quality of teachers, the state should develop programs based on the entire state which involve all the elements that practice researcher consider relevant for ensuring a high quality teaching fraternity (Chait, 2007). The state should expand and run the pay programs which have become differentiated in schools with high needs. Research indicates that using significant bonuses to lure and retain performing teachers in schools with high needs would be an appropriate method for improving the quality of teachers (Chait, 2007). The policy of Florida State should persuade districts to enlarge and run the schedules of test alternative salary. The schedule of single salary is ineffective, in accordance with the researchers, policy-makers and practitioners. The policy of Florida should encourage districts to experiment with alternatives to the schedule of single salary (Chait, 2007). The Florida should demand for participation of teachers in its development and implementation and should remain a choice for the districts. For Florida’s program to encounter less opposition, it should involve teachers either in the development of the applications of the district or being part of the program at school level (Chait, 2007). One way that can be used to reduce the power or strength of established interests and allow enactment and application of merit award is to concurrently enlarge competition and choice in learning and develop teacher merit award programs. If the system of merit can help in attracting and psyching up effective teachers, then schools in an environment of high competition would have the incentives to start those programs. These schools also have the potential to design and uphold those systems of merit award in a way very sensible because their revenue relies on it (The Florida Senate, 2010). Conclusion The experience of Florida with performance exhibits the issues involved in the development of a performance pay plan for the whole state. The plan has a number of challenges: first, the plan must involve a wide state range and the stakeholders in the district who are expected to offer support. Second, the plan’s details are calculated via the process for legislative. Third, the state must have a suitable state control and local discretion balance. Nevertheless, the statewide approach provides some benefits: first, the state can make available a framework that is fundamental for performance pay. Second, the funding from the state may allow districts to execute performance pay. Third, the state can provide guidance and support for the efforts of the districts. The unending efforts to expand this plan, the performance pay plan, in Florida provide an amazing opportunity to comprehend the approaches applied by the state in compensation reform (Chait, 2007). References Buck, S., & Greene, J. (2010). Blocking, diluting, and co-opting merit pay. Retrieved from: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/MeritPayPapers/Greene_Buck_10-14.pdf Buddin, R. et al. (2007). Merit pay for Florida teachers. Retrieved from: http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR508.html Chait, R. (2007). Current state policies that reform teacher pay. Retrieved from: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/report/2007/11/05/3705/current-state-policies-that-reform-teacher-pay/ PEPC Report. (1999). Florida’s bright futures scholarship program: A baseline evaluation. Retrieved from: http://www.cepri.state.fl.us/pdf/bffin.pdf The Florida Senate. (2010). Florida statutes. Retrieved from: http://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2010/1012.225 Read More