Another school year is approaching, which means of course another year of sitting around lunch rooms listening to teachers complain about all the changes that are taking place in the education world. Let's take a moment to look back at all the changes that have taken place in education policy over the past year. Via the Detroit News:
Tenure law reformed: In a remarkably short amount of time, this Legislature passed long overdue reforms to the state teacher tenure law. It will now be more difficult for new teachers to achieve the protections from tenure. It will take five years and three consecutive effective ratings on annual evaluations before new teachers earn tenure. Under the new law, if a teacher earns three consecutive ineffective ratings on evaluations, districts can fire the teacher. And teachers now must be evaluated largely on how much their students learn, based on tests and other measures. Another important change is the elimination of seniority in determining teacher layoffs.
Proficiency standards raised: The state Board of Education approved raising proficiency levels on standardized tests earlier this year, a move that has created a lot of pushback from teachers unions and other educators. Yet these tougher standards should improve the level of learning in the state. Studies show that students rise to the challenge of higher benchmarks over time. The Michigan Department of Education is planning to set the new cut scores — the level at which a student is considered proficient in a subject area — in September. Scores on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test and Michigan Merit Exam will surely plummet at first, but state Superintendent Mike Flanagan says these new standards are essential.
Best practices encouraged: When they cut school funding this year, the Legislature and governor offered schools a way to earn back lost funds. Schools meeting four of five specified metrics can gain an additional $100 per student. These best practices include developing a dashboard that measures district effectiveness, requiring districts to make competitive bids for services, ensuring that employees cover more of their health care expenses and producing a consolidation plan with cost reductions. Snyder supported $470 per pupil cuts as a way to balance the budget but also to increase accountability from districts.
New district for failing schools formed: The governor announced in June the creation of the Education Achievement System, a new statewide school district that will eventually operate of all Michigan's poorest-performing schools. Lawmakers are in the process of introducing legislation that will give the system more authority as it gets going. More than 30 failing schools in Detroit Public Schools will enter the new district in the 2012-13 school year. The system holds promise because it directs funds straight into classrooms and gives significant control to principals, teachers and parents.
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