Florida passes teacher merit pay bill

One state that is really getting set for the second round of the Race to the Top (RTTT) competition is Florida.

Their legislature just passed a bill that implements teacher merit pay and a teacher accountability system where student performance counts.

Understandably, the bill is controversial (the Florida teachers’ union, of course, is incensed), and the governor has yet to sign it.

However, the fact that Florida’s legislature has been successful in passing such legislation serves as a reminder that Kentucky is likely to face some stiff competition in RTTT Phase 2. Our odds of winning will be seriously lowered if we don’t get a decent charter school program in our package.

By the way, Florida’s performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress Reading Assessment puts Kentucky to shame.

Consider the NAEP reading performance between 1998 (when NAEP started to report scores that included students getting testing accommodations) and 2009 for all the states that participated in all the assessments given during this time frame.

Florida’s rate of progress in both fourth and eighth grade ranks number one for both grade levels. Florida scored well behind Kentucky in 1998, but now they tie us at both grade levels. And, Florida has a large minority population and four times the proportion of English language learners found in Kentucky, as well. Given its many disadvantages, the fact that Florida raised performance and now ties us is a miracle - for Florida.