Ohio Goes Where No State Has Gone Before

Ohio recently enacted legislation that replaces the step and lane compensation system for one that rewards educators based on classroom performance – becoming the first state to move away from the current practice of basing salaries on degree attainment and years of experience.

This legislation comes on the heels of numerous states’ actions around various collective bargaining issues.  These states, recognizing that our current practices treat teachers like widgets, have moved forward with aggressive proposals that bring teaching more in line with other professions.

These actions, however, come with a degree of uncertainty.  While we don’t know how this will unfold in the medium and long-term, we do know that our current evaluation system is broken and that our compensation practices are not tied to a broader strategy of recruiting, selecting, supporting, and rewarding educators.

Moving forward, one thing is clear – there are no clear answers to many of these difficult questions.  All of us in the education field must become comfortable existing in a somewhat uncertain environment as new policies and practices are implemented and subsequently evaluated.  And, as Illinois showed us last week, all stakeholders are capable of coming to the table and working on this together for the purpose of improving public education.  Here in Delaware, we are all at the table defining what we believe good teaching looks like – along with crafting numerous other reforms that will positively impact future generations of Delaware students.

Related Topics: Teacher Compensation