Second Pay-out
As stated, our goal is to have all children at the lower levels, and at least 90% at the high school level, pass the required exams. However even with the incentive of the stepped bonus for teachers, it is likely that not all students will be able to pass their exams on the first attempt; some will require remedial education or summer school, before they are able to pass the exams on a subsequent attempt. Providing for a second bonus pay-out encourages teachers to extend themselves even when a 100% initial passing rate is not likely. The bonus money which is not paid out would be directed toward the cost of additional summer instruction for those children who failed the skills exams, to allow those children to re-take and pass the exams. The length of time it takes to give these students the ability to pass the skills tests decides the amount of bonus money teachers will receive at the second pay-out; any money left over, i.e., which remains unspent after the last child passes the exams and the 100% rate is achieved, is then distributed to the teachers. The less which needs to be spent on remedial instruction, the more they will receive.
Is it fair to ask this much of our teachers? Ultimately we have no choice. We will attempt to address all of the factors which detract from the educational process, but unless we drastically improve the quality of education, it will have no effect; poor minority students will not be able to use the educational process as a means of social change.
Classes vary from year to year. Thus some years it will be easier, some years it will be harder to reach these goals. But to receive the bonuses, teachers must find a way to do so. This is why site-based management is so important. If we are to ask for this level of performance from teachers, we must also give them the level of control they need to allow them to respond to the unique situations they face each year. Essentially, teachers will be told what they are to achieve, and then allowed to meet those goals in the manner they see fit. They are given control over the process, while we judge only the outcome.
Next: Implementation