January 22, 2016
                     

Table of Contents
Controversial TKES and LKES Components Under Fire
Teacher Evaluation in the Media
PAGE Legislation Begins the Process
Don't Miss the Vote!
 
Legislative Calendar

Monday, Jan. 25th -  Joint Education Committee Meeting - 1:30pm - 341 CAP 
 
 
Week in Review

CLICK HERE
to watch the latest Week in Review podcast to catch up on last week's action under the Gold Dome.
 
 
PAGE Day on
Capitol Hill

Tuesday, February 16th

Keynote Speaker: State School Superintendent Richard Woods

Morning Session:
Claire Suggs, GBPI

Dick Yarbrough, Columnist

CLICK HERE
for more details and registration.
PAGE Report From the Capitol
 Days 7 and 8      
Days 7 and 8 of the 2016 legislative session have come and gone with little activity on the education front.  Friday's threat of winter weather and early state office closing hours provided a quick Day 8.

The House Education Committee and Senate Education Youth Committees will hold a joint meeting on Monday, Jan. 25, at 1:30 pm.  
Controversial TKES and LKES Components Under Fire

In response to PAGE'S "I Promise" campaign, many educators have shared their concern with the issue of linking standardized test scores to evaluations as is done in Georgia's TKES and LKES evaluation systems.

Kelli De Guire, a teacher in Gordon County and Secretary for the PAGE Board of Directors, responded this week to a media request for her thoughts on merit pay and her experience with TKES (Georgia's performance evaluation system for teachers). Her experience is echoed by thousands of educators around our state. PAGE continues to share Kelli's and many of your stories with legislators during this session of the General Assembly. Your voices matter. Call the members of your delegation to let them know how TKES is affecting your students, your classrooms and you. You can find your local legislators using this lookup tool.

TKES: Powerless, Yet Responsible
by Kelli De Guire 
 
Coming from the business world in 2003, I have a unique perspective on merit pay. As a technical writer (sometimes a contractor,) getting a bonus for product sales made sense. As employees, we were responsible for design, creation, quality, and customer satisfaction. This model, however, does not make sense for education. While we as teachers are definitely responsible for the design of lessons and implementing them for our students, we cannot be held responsible for areas that lie outside our realm of control. Poverty in Georgia is a real issue. I can design the world's best researched and crafted lesson, but if a student hasn't eaten all weekend or is worried because his parent is in jail, I cannot make the student learn.  To use my computer analogy, I cannot "debug" the student because the code doesn't belong to me. I truly believe that equating business models with education models is dangerous, not just for teachers but for everyone involved. When we start viewing our students as "products," we lose the individuality that each has and the nurturing that each one deserves - even if they cannot pass a specific test.

The TKES idea originated, I believe, in good intentions. However, I feel very scared that 50% of a teacher's score (pay) will be based on students' abilities, and desires,  to do well on standardized tests. Also, why does Georgia feel the need to make it 50% of a teacher's evaluation? Some states tie test performance to pay, but Georgia goes further than most using 50% as the measure. Even the federal government has dropped any correlation between standardized testing and teacher performance. Why should GA continue to support this model?
 
As I watched my students taking my SLO (Student Learning Objective) test last semester, I had an angry and powerless feeling wash over me. This reaction to a test was not a first in my teaching career, but this time the consequences of the testing would fall on me. Some students did not take the test seriously. One in particular did not even read the passages because he planned to drop out of school (despite SEVERAL interventions.) Prior to the TKES, I would have been concerned for the students themselves, but now I was physically angry because this lack of desire would reflect negatively upon me despite all my many and various efforts to the contrary. I was angry because it was out of my control. My best effort was not only not good enough, it was going to fail. Was this my fault? According to TKES, the answer is yes, but I have no idea what else I could have done.
 
We teach our children that they are not powerless-that they have control over educational outcomes and thereby their lives; yet, I, as the teacher had no control at all and was left feeling powerless over the eventual outcome. No one wants to feel powerless, especially those who give their lives wholeheartedly everyday to their profession. As teaching professionals, TKES leaves us powerless yet responsible.
Teacher Evaluation in the Media

In addition to Kelli's letter, the media has also been researching and reporting on this issue with evaluations.  Below are several other stories regarding standardized testing, teacher evaluations, and the ongoing teacher attrition issue:

"New federal study advises caution in using student scores to rate teachers" - AJC Get Schooled post

"Is Georgia's new evaluation system stacked against teachers?" - AJC Get Schooled post

"The real reasons behind the U.S. teacher shortage" - Washington Post article

"Seeing momentum, teachers push to roll back testing" - AJC article 
PAGE Legislation Begins the Process
  
PAGE legislative staff continues to work hard on legislation that would provide relief from the current standardized testing percentage weights in TKES (50 percent) and LKES (70 percent).  We hope to have more to share in the coming weeks as committee meetings begin and legislation begins proceeding through the legislative process.  Please continue to contact legislators today as part of our "I Promise" campaign and let them know that you would like to see these percentages changed.

CLICK HERE to find your legislator's contact information.  
 
Don't Miss the Vote!
Register by Feb. 1 to Vote on March 1

This is a big year in politics -- not only is it a presidential election year, but state and federal legislative seats will also be decided in the November general election. There are many education policies and initiatives being proposed this year in Georgia. Your voice counts and the best way to be heard is by voting.

To cast your vote in the SEC Primary or for local issues, you must be registered or ensure your registration is current by Monday, Feb. 1. To make it easy for you, we have included the on-line links for registering, checking your registration, and to review your sample ballot. You can register here and you can check your registration here.  These online tools are easy to use and the My Voter Page provides voter-specific information. Be aware that if you do not provide a copy of your state identification when registering, you will be asked to show it the first time you vote.

Georgia also has an official app (GA Votes) which will allow you to register, find your polling location, see a sample ballot and more! Just search for GA Votes.
Josh Stephens - Legislative Policy Analyst
Margaret Ciccarelli - Director of Legislative Affairs [email protected]
  


PAGE's core business is to provide professional learning for educators that will enhance professional competence and confidence, build leadership qualities and lead to higher academic achievement for students, while providing the best in membership, legislative and legal services and support