9486 in the collection  

Colorado District Ties Incentives to CSAP Scores
Ohanian Comment: They call money for test scores school reform. I can think of a few more fitting words. The curriculum change in this reform is that they test kids more often.

COMMERCE CITY - Rose Hill Elementary Principal Nadine Pacheco stood in the school library Wednesday and handed out 45 bonus checks ranging from $150 to $1,100 to her teachers and classroom aides.

"And the winner is," Pacheco said each time, recognizing an educator who helped increase the school's combined state test scores by more than 10 percentage points this year.

The recognition ceremony, repeated in schools across Adams County School District 14 on Wednesday, is part of the district's unique incentive plan that directly links dollars to individual school scores on the Colorado Student Assessment Program exam.

Each year, the district negotiates with its employee groups to reward growth made on the state tests.

This year, the third year of the plan, teachers and classroom aides - also known as paraprofessionals - could earn checks up to $1,100 apiece. Principals and assistant principals could earn up to 2 percent of their salaries.

Superintendent John Lange sees the incentive payments as one of many reforms working in the 6,700-student district, which this year posted overall CSAP gains of 3.75 percent.

Last year's gain was 2.75 percent; the year before that, growth was 1 percent.

In 1997, Lange noted, "We had the lowest scores in the state.

"I wouldn't say, if you took away incentive payments, that our student achievement would drop," Lange said Wednesday, just before stepping into another recognition ceremony.

"But it's all part of a number of reforms we've put in. Everything's working well."

This year, the district is adding custodians, bus drivers and food service workers to the incentive plan. They, too, will earn bonuses if their schools make gains on state tests.

Last year, the district awarded nearly $290,000 in incentive pay. This year's amount is estimated at $325,000, a higher figure largely because it's the first year that aides are included in the plan.

In essence, the plan rewards growth based on percent increase though details differ for each employee group.

For teachers, for example, a school's annual CSAP gain of zero to 3 percent means a bonus check of $366.

If the increase is between 3 and 6 percent, that means another $366. And an increase greater than 6 percent would mean another $368 - or a maximum of $1,100.

Rose Hill was the district's top gainer among its elementary schools. Pacheco credits frequent tests to ferret out students' academic weaknesses and strategies such as "intervention Fridays," when teachers work to correct them.

Teacher Angie Terkelson also cited a "positive discipline" program that dropped office referrals by 53 percent last school year.

And while the extra money is nice, Terkelson said, it's not the point.

"I don't think we're doing it for the money," she said, "I think we're doing it because we're in a profession that we love."

— Nancy Mitchell
Incentives tied to CSAP may boost scores, morale
Rocky Mountain News
2003-08-28
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/education/article/0,1299,DRMN_957_2215685,00.html

---

INDEX OF OUTRAGES

Pages: 380   
[1] 2 3 4 5 6  Next >>    Last >>