Branstad plan calls for sweeping education reform

DES MOINES (AP) ? Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad on Monday unveiled an education reform plan that focuses on tying teacher pay to performance and will form the centerpiece of a legislative package he intends to introduce before lawmakers convene early next year.

Branstad said his long-term goal is to make Iowa the top performing state in the nation in education, and among the top 10 in the world. That goal can be reached within 10 years, the governor said.

?This is much more comprehensive than anything we?ve done in the past,? he said at a news conference.

?Iowa has good schools, but ?good? isn?t good enough anymore,? said Branstad. ?What you have is a new system and a new approach which allows outstanding teachers to get better pay.?

Under Branstad?s proposed system, teachers would be classified from apprentice to master teachers and paid in accordance with their experience and performance. Students would have to pass proficiency tests to advance beyond the third grade, and would have to demonstrate competency before graduating from high school.

Branstad said he couldn?t yet say how much the plan will cost the state.

?We are going to put together the recommendations in terms of the dollars,? said Branstad. ?I would expect that would go up in the years ahead.?

The $3.45 billion the state spends on elementary and secondary schools and higher education is about 58 percent of the state?s budget. Branstad and Education Department head Jason Glass said that percentage is likely to increase with the education overhaul.

?It will involve asking the legislature, asking the state for more resources,? said Glass. ?I will be advocating that we should direct more resources toward education,? Glass said.

Under the proposed system, teachers would be ranked according to their classroom performance, starting with apprentice teachers with less than five years in the profession and ranging to master teachers who spend about half their time teaching and half their time mentoring other teachers. Pay would reflect those rankings, Glass said.

The plan calls for about 5 percent of the state?s teachers to achieve master status, while 60 percent would be career teachers with five or more years of experience who spend all of their time teaching.

?We are saying that performance matters,? Glass said.

?Every teacher, every year would be evaluated,? he said.

The plan would also call for boosting teachers? starting pay, which is currently $28,000 a year. Standards for those teachers would be toughened, and prospective teachers would have to post a 3.0 grade-point score in college to be eligible to enter the profession.

At a Glance

DES MOINES (AP) ?Here are the highlights of Gov. Terry Branstad?s package of proposals designed to bolster Iowa?s education system:

TEACHER PAY

Teacher pay would be linked to classroom performance. The plan classifies teachers in groups, such as apprentice teachers, career teachers, mentor teachers and master teachers.

Teachers would be promoted through the ranks based on peer reviews and their pay would increase as they advance. About 5 percent of the state?s teachers are expected to achieve the top ranking. They also could get higher pay by teaching in troubled schools or in shortage areas such as math.

CURRICULUM

A new committee would be created to design tougher curriculum standards for students at all levels. It would be composed mainly of teachers.

ASSESSMENTS

The package would require third-graders to be able to demonstrate reading ability before they could be advance to the fourth grade. High school students would have to pass end-of-course tests in key subjects, such as English, algebra, biology and government before they could graduate.

TEACHER STANDARDS

Potential teachers would have to post a 3.0 grade point average in college to be eligible to enter the profession, and there would be a new scholarship program aimed at luring bright students into teaching. There would be new options for schools to hire teachers from other professions.

LEADERSHIP

The plan would establish mentor teachers in every building to work with teachers and would require weekly meetings to talk about classroom performance.

FIRING

Teachers at the beginning level would be considered ?at will? employees who would have their contracts renewed annually by the local school boards. Teachers deemed ineffective would receive a chance to file an improvement plan, but could be dismissed if they don?t meet those goals.

?We would be highly selective on who gets into this,? said Glass. ?We can lead the county again with a new compensation system.?

Branstad said he plans to travel the state to rally support ahead of the new legislative session that begins in January.

Key lawmakers said they would consider Branstad?s proposals, but that the budget would be the real issue.

?Governor Branstad will have a lot to prove next year about just how serious he is about improving education,? said Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington, who heads an education budget panel. ?The governor has got the right goals, but rhetoric without resources simply won?t cut it.?

?We intend to give fair and serious consideration to his ideas,? said Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, who heads the Senate Education Committee. ?The governor?s proposal is one more step in a lengthy process of education improvement.?

Branstad has been pushing education reform since last year?s election, when he pointed out that Iowa?s student test scores ­? once the best in the nation ? had slipped to the middle of the pack.

?Young people today must meet higher expectations than ever to succeed in this global economy,? the governor said. ?For the future of our children and our state we must transform our good schools into world-class schools.?