I think so too. Maybe I am just mis-informed. In a district with a union are teachers’ pay dependent on the results of their performance or is it just based on seniority and credentials? Are layoffs based on performance or just on seniority?
Here is NEA’s position statement on teacher evaluation systems. It’s a bit of a read, but they suggest evaluating on:
-Indicators of Teacher Practice
-Indicators of Teacher Contribution and Growth
-Indicators of Contribution to Student Learning and Growth
They suggest that if a teacher fails to meet standards in these areas, there should be an improvement plan that lasts no longer than one year; if there’s no improvement, the teacher should be “subject to fair, transparent and efficient dismissal process that provides due process.”
They suggest that probationary teachers (i.e., ones without tenure) may simply have contracts nonrenewed at the end of a year instead of going through the improvement plan process, and that tenure only be granted to probationary teachers once they demonstrate an ability to meet the standards.
I’m not finding a position statement on merit pay, but I know NEA has opposed it in many instances, especially when the pay is based primarily or only on student test scores.. The closest I could find to a broader statement was this article:
That’s the approach of the national union; local affiliates, of course, may differ. Mine, for example, in North Carolina, has no bargaining power at all.