Houston ISD is promoting the Teacher Incentive Allotment as an opportunity for teachers to shine and be recognized through an increased salary. Yet a teacher will only be rewarded for following pre-packaged HISD lesson plans and presenting the materials in a manner that, in theory, appears to be best practice. But in reality, is being used to control and punish even previously successful teachers who teach outside the HISD box.
The TIA rating system affects the professional status and reputation of career teachers. Low ratings put a teacher on a “Growth Plan,” where they keep the lowest pay and will likely receive a poor reference if they try to leave the district. There is no data to support the effectiveness of HISD’s TIA rating system, yet HISD is using TIA as a gold standard.
Most teachers want to be held accountable for student learning progress and work diligently to structure lesson plans to achieve student success.
Effective teachers adapt their lessons based on student needs—speeding up, slowing down, or adding materials to address different learning styles.
When a teacher can present the materials in the manner they know best suits their students, and the student’s learning is reflected in assignments and tests, the teacher is demonstrating their abilities as a professional. Yet, these factors are not what is judged by TIA.
In the name of supporting teachers, HISD created a review and rating system that instead instills fear and division. Several times each week, teachers in HISD classrooms undergo reviews by their school’s administration, teacher peers, and uncertified school and district staff. HISD observations are random and typically last 5-10 minutes. The reviewer has a checklist with numerical ratings which include topics like: Planning, Engage & Deliver, and Monitor and Adjust.
As part of the new system, HISD hired people to sit in a room and create lesson plans and exams. Teachers are encouraged to “internalize” these lessons——adding context to the pre-packaged lesson without going outside the HISD box. Not everything HISD has done with the pre-packaged lessons is negative. For example, the lesson plans include PowerPoints with built-in Multiple Response Strategies along with guided questions and readings.
Teachers regularly use MRSs to engage students, which helps increase participation and promote critical thinking and comprehension skills. But what once was a tool in the teacher’s toolbox is now a tool for HISD to use against the teacher.
If an MRS is not in progress during observation, the teacher is graded down. Some teachers will repeat a completed MRS when an observer comes into the classroom to avoid the markdown and hopefully increase their score.
Also, the teacher is graded on the PowerPoint slides observed. If the class becomes engrossed in a discussion or moves onto a hands-on activity, and the teacher forgets to advance the PowerPoint slide, he/she is graded down. The teacher is graded down for things like an incorrect date posted on the board. When the observation ratings are used in an authoritarian manner to control and punish a teacher for inconsequential things, any program benefits are lost.
Before reading “The Scarlet Letter,” a 9th-grade teacher might use a short video or illustration to explain Puritanism in the 1600s to help students contextualize plot and character behavior.
If an observer came in during this introduction and did not see students engaged in “student struggle” or what they considered deeper learning, which would typically come during the reading analysis of the story, the teacher would be graded down. The teacher can’t speak to the observer to explain where they are in the lesson or anything about the current exercise.
Ironically, English Language Arts is now called Reading, yet Mr. Miles has removed physical books from classrooms. This makes it even more challenging to teach a deeper understanding of literary concepts or convey basics when only excerpts of a story are available through the HISD lesson plans.
To bolster the impression that its methods are working, HISD artificially improves student test scores by using already-taught lessons for semester tests. Repeating the same material could help students grade higher, but is this a true evaluation of their application of critical thinking or comprehension skills?
Successful school districts promote student and teacher success through parent and teacher partnerships and by providing meaningful professional development sessions that give educators opportunities to share ideas and strategies and strengthen educator relationships. Successful school districts use periodic observations and ongoing continuing education programs to support and motivate their teachers. Empowering, not demeaning teachers helps to achieve student success.
HISD would serve its student population better through creating a Parent Incentive program to promote parental engagement. Many studies show that when parents are engaged in their child’s education students participate in their studies increases, and their knowledge and grades improve.
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