Victory NH
The 60 Second Update with Governor Tim Pawlenty
Isn't it time for Real Education Reform?
1. What are your 3 R's for education reform, and why do they matter?
In Minnesota, we’re focused on these three “R’s” -- rigor, relevance and results. Too many of our students today are engaged in academic loitering. In too many cases, our students are bored, checked-out, coasting, not even vaguely aware of their post-high school plans, if they have any, and they are just marking time. It’s costing us a lot of money and it’s costing them their future. This is a silent crisis and has the potential to devastate our future prosperity if we don’t fix it.
2. What is Q Comp and how does it work?
I proposed Q Comp in January 2005 and signed it into law in July 2005. Q Comp is the nation’s most comprehensive performance pay for teachers program. Under Q Comp, school districts are eligible for extra funding if they pay teachers for performance rather than just seniority. Districts must utilize an alternative salary schedule that incorporates student performance into determining a portion of teacher salaries. Q Comp also recognizes teacher excellence by creating master and mentor teaching positions to encourage gifted teachers to remain in the classroom and share their skills with others.
After parents, teachers are the biggest influence in the educational success of a child. The current teacher pay system is outdated and is not geared towards accountability for results. We need to treat teachers as professionals, not part of an assembly line from the 1940s. Q Comp does just that.
An independent analysis released earlier this year by Hezel Associates found there is a significant and positive relationship between the number of years a school has been implementing Q Comp and student achievement.
3. You focus heavily on more and better testing. Why is that important?
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Measuring student achievement is an important part of building a more accountable education system.
An extensive body of research has found that effective teachers and instruction increase student achievement.
In 2007, the McKinsey consulting group released a study that found the world’s top-performing education systems shared many common characteristics, including recruiting high-quality people to become teachers and developing them into effective instructors. The study also found students assigned effective teachers three years in a row outperformed, by nearly 50 percentile points, students assigned to less effective teachers.
In order to track that kind of improvement, we must continue to measure how our students are performing.
4. How would the Knowledge is Power Program help students in Minnesota?
In my 2006 State of the State Address, I invited the Knowledge is Power Program, also known as KIPP, to open charter schools in Minnesota. Minnesota has a long history of being on the cutting edge of education reform as the birthplace of the charter school movement. KIPP helps disadvantaged students develop the skills and character they will need for the competitive global environment.
KIPP began the process of coming to Minnesota later that year and opened their first tuition-free, open-enrollment public school in Minnesota, KIPP Stand Academy in Minneapolis, last year. We need more innovation and rigor in our schools and we welcome KIPP as another alternative for our students. Through hard work and the support of a broad range of local partners, KIPP will open the doors of opportunity for more children in the Twin Cities.
KIPP students are in school learning 60 percent more than average public school students, typically from 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, every other Saturday, and for three weeks during the summer. Their schools have been widely recognized for putting underserved students on the path to college. 80 percent of KIPP students come from low-income families. Nationally, more than 80 percent of KIPP alumni go to college.
5. What are the most important elements of your Teaching Transformation Act?
The “Teaching Transformation Act” I proposed last year will help recruit the best and brightest into the teaching profession, improve teacher training in college, provide a more supportive working environment for teachers, and implement a 21st century compensation system linked to performance.
Almost one-half of the teaching profession in Minnesota is projected to retire over the next 10-15 years. More than one million teachers in the United States will retire over the next ten years. In order to address the looming teacher shortage and improve teacher quality, we need to transform the way we attract, train and keep teachers.
The Teaching Transformation Act includes:
- Tying increases in teacher pay to improved student performance.
- Setting tougher entrance requirements for admission into teacher preparation programs.
- Creating the SMART Program (State of Minnesota Mid-Career Alternative Route to Teaching) to recruit mid-career professionals to teach in high-need subject areas in math, science and other teacher shortage areas.
- Modernizing professional development for teachers by focusing on more time for continuous training, providing teachers with performance feedback through evaluations, and encouraging teacher collaboration to better use data to improve student achievement.
Link (With Video)
