Amendment 3 is short-sighted way to evaluate teachers

Most would agree that any profession should have a level of accountability. The method to evaluate accountability can be challenging in some fields more than others.

Public education is one where there's no quick way. Amendment 3 on the Missouri November ballot seeks to connect teacher evaluations to student performance.

The amendment language:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

n require teachers to be evaluated by a standards based performance evaluation system for which each local school district must receive state approval to continue receiving state and local funding;

n require teachers to be dismissed, retained, demoted, promoted and paid primarily using quantifiable student performance data as part of the evaluation system;

n require teachers to enter into contracts of three years or fewer with public school districts; and

n prohibit teachers from organizing or collectively bargaining regarding the design and implementation of the teacher evaluation system?

Decisions by school districts regarding provisions allowed or required by this proposal and their implementation will influence the potential costs or savings impacting each district. Significant potential costs may be incurred by the state and/or the districts if new/additional evaluation instruments must be developed to satisfy the proposal's performance evaluation requirements.

Proposed by the 97th General Assembly

Proposed by Initiative Petition

We oppose this amendment for several reasons, including:

1) It's largely opposed by school districts, and the organization behind the amendment, Teachgreat.org, has dropped its campaign for it.

2) The costs associated with this amendment could be significant. Officials estimate the amendment could impose a collective cost on Missouri school districts of $1 billion. This is a lot of money to throw at another standardized test.

3) For those who support local control, which we do, this is a major hurdle. Schools would have to comply with another standardized test and make hiring decisions of teachers based on these results.

While student achievement should be a component of teacher evaluations, there must be allowances for the students they teach. Students are not numbers. Some struggle more on math than others. The same for any subject. To evaluate a teacher without first looking at the individuals they teach does not help retain the best teachers.

Should public schools have a system of accountability? Yes. Should student achievement be part of this evaluation? Yes. Should it be the entire basis and add burdensome costs to taxpayers? No.

We encourage a "no" vote on Amendment 3 as voters go to the polls next month.