Kasich outlines his view on how to judge teachers

By The Columbus Dispatch  • 

When Gov. John Kasich wasn't blasting the nursing-home lobby yesterday or discussing a tax cut for Ohioans in 2012, he was offering insight into his views on how a teacher should be judged in the classroom.

Kasich, who spoke at a warehouse in Mason packed with elected officials and business leaders, said a teacher's performance should be based on the progress students make in the classroom.

He also said lower-level students should not be measured against higher-level students when judging a teacher's performance.

"It's all about the progress that gets made," Kasich said. "The simple fact of the matter is we want to measure the amount of content that a kid gets through a year."

Included in Senate Bill 5 and Kasich's budget are provisions to place teachers on a merit-based pay system. Recommendations for how a teacher's performance shall be judged are due in April, but Kasich said he would move to delay implementation of merit pay if he doesn't feel the metrics used to judge teachers are fair.

"Let me tell you some of my concerns," Kasich told the crowd yesterday. "If I'm a teacher at the school and I don't kiss up to the parents, am I going to get punished? If I don't kiss up to the principal, am I going to get punished for that? These are all legitimate concerns."

Kasich also said "if you shield the work of a public employee from assessment, you are welcoming mediocrity."