Learning to Buy the Best Teachers Has Its Lessons

CINCINNATI — Last fall, the public school system here took a radical step. No longer would simply working another year give teachers automatic raises, which is the norm in American schools. Instead, teachers would have to demonstrate a broad range of skills in their work with students, parents and other teachers. Those who didn't measure up could see their pay cut.

Teachers saw it as a chance to burnish their profession's tarnished reputation. "The thrust . . . was to make the Cincinnati Public Schools a place where professionalism was valued and we'd find good teachers," said Nancy Holtkamp, 52, a teacher at Carthage Paidaia School. "That appealed to me."

Such a shift, while major, was in line with other changes sweeping public education. Performance-pay plans similar to Cincinnati's are about to get underway in Philadelphia and Toledo, Ohio, and legislation to establish a statewide plan was recently signed into law in Iowa. California distributes more than $600 million in annual bonuses to teachers and schools based on student test scores, but lawmakers and school district officials have debated adopting plans more similar to Cincinnati's.

But now, even as Congress puts the finishing touches on legislation that stresses accountability, the closely watched experiment here appears to have gone off track. Many teachers are angry and frustrated, and earlier this year they voted to oust the union leaders who negotiated the deal. And while administrators and teachers are working hard to regain momentum, the problems serve as a caution light to other school districts.

The largest lesson that teachers, administrators and experts draw from Cincinnati's experience is that, while describing good teaching is possible on paper, it is not easy to recognize it when you see it. Evaluating teachers' skills when thousands of dollars ride on the outcome turns out to be expensive, time-consuming and controversial.

The nation's leading expert on performance-pay plans for teachers is Allan Odden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison education professor who was deeply involved in creating the Cincinnati model. He says other school districts should heed what's happened here.

For example, he said, districts should not try to cut the pay of weak performers because it sparks too much opposition. Also, teachers need to be given specific examples of what is expected of them--videotapes of exemplary lessons, for example, so they have a target to shoot for.