Accountability Incentives: It's not just about core

      While I do agree that there needs to be some accountability measures in place so that teachers can continue to improve their practice and schools can increase student achievement, the "one-size-fits-all" approach does not work. When too much emphasis is placed on the results of on arbitrary test given on one particular day, the pressure that is placed on both students and teachers is stifling. The No Child Left Behind act (NCLB) caused a lot of unnecessary stress on teachers to perform, because it is difficult to control every  student's behavior and study habits, not to mention the external factors that can preoccupy students' minds on any givien day.   It is important to recognize that "the learning process for every school, like every child, is a personalized journey of continuous improvement" (Elgart, 2016).  Students all learn differently, and teachers must have the freedom to make adjustments to their curriculum based on the needs of their students. 

        Furthermore, a child's education includes more than just the four core subjects; therefore, districts that connect monetary incentives to student achievement scores should also consider incentivizing growth and student achievement in the elective classes as well. One major advantage to including elective teachers is that they will naturally want to increase the rigor in their classes, which in turn helps student achievement cross-curricularly. As a former electives teacher, I personally felt discriminated against since I did not qualify for any monetary incentives. As an  AVID elective teacher, every skill I taught my students had a direct, positive impact on their achievement scores in their core classes. The same can be said for fine arts teachers, Career Technology Education teachers and physical education teachers, etc.. Therefore should not all of these teachers receive some credit for helping their students achieve higher test scores? I say yes. elective teachers should not be "penalized" or made to feel less important than core teachers by not including them in incentive allotments. However, diving deeper into the why behind it is  a subject best left for a later discussion. 

    

Elgart, M. A. (2016). Creating state accountability systems that help schools improve. Phi Delta Kappan, 98(1), 26–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721716666050