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Officials at Dallas schools are mulling over whether they should base teacher bonuses on how well students perform on standardized tests. Teachers are suspicious of the proposed plan, and with good reason. There has to be a better way to determine which teachers are doing a great job than an antiquated system known as the Classroom Effectiveness Index.

Dallas Schools and the Classroom Effectiveness Index

The problem with using the Classroom Effectiveness Index as a way to measure performance is that it's unclear exactly how this number will be calculated. If you are going to review a person's performance, shouldn't the expectations be clear? The students attending Dallas schools appreciate it when their teachers give them clear directions for an assignment or a project; teachers deserve the same courtesy.

I'm all for performance reviews being used to indicate the areas where someone is doing well and to be used as a stepping stone for improvement in areas where the individual needs to make some changes. Dallas schools should have this type of performance review system in place so that teachers can give their students the best education possible. But tying a bonus for teachers working in Dallas schools to how well the students perform is not the right way to go here.

The amount of money (up to $10,000 per teacher) is a significant sum, and I'm sure that most people would be happy to get a bonus of this amount. I understand that such factors as the students' family income, ethnic background, and language skills will be factored in by the computerized calculations, but can the teachers at Dallas schools really trust that this will be the case?

Student Performance in Dallas Schools

With this proposed plan, will Dallas schools have difficulty providing services to students with special needs? Will those young people who have intellectual or learning disabilities be excluded from testing? Will the teachers who work in Dallas schools be hesitant about including these students in their class? If, on Test Day in Dallas schools, a student has an "off day," is that enough to jeopardize a teacher's bonus?

There are far too many unanswered questions with this proposal for my taste. There has to be a better way to reward great teachers. Teaching is still an art and when a student is fortunate enough to meet a teacher who is able to inspire them, something magical occurs. I would like to think that the quest for this unexplainable phenomenon is why these people chose to become teachers in the first place. Let's hope the people running Dallas schools rethink this bonus plan before it is put into place.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit Dallas Independent School District

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