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At a news conference later today, Educators 4 Excellence-Los Angeles (E4E) is unveiling a set of recommendations aimed at tying teacher’s raises and bonuses to student test scores, as well as other new strategies to keep effective teachers in the classroom.

The proposals were first reported this morning by the LA Times‘ Howard Blume, who described E4E as a local group of classroom teachers and noted that critics of pay-for-performance have cited research suggesting that such incentives typically fail.

UTLA has not looked over the proposals entirely and would not comment on the recommendations.

However, Alex Caputo-Pearl, a member of UTLA’s Board of Directors, told LA School Report that while E4E’s desire to stabilize the district’s teaching population is positive, the “thrust of these proposals are in the wrong direction.”

“Using standardized test scores to make high stakes decisions about teachers, and therefore schools, is very problematic,” Caputo-Pearl said. “It would undermine the equity of schools and could hurt our most vulnerable students.”

Just as controversial as the group’s test-based bonus proposal may be the expected attendance of School Board member-elect Monica Ratliff in addition to LAUSD Supt. John Deasy and Board President Monica Garcia.

“Good grief,” wrote one of the readers in the comments section following the LA Times story, lamenting that Ratliff was cooperating with Deasy and Garcia “in support of tying teacher evaluations and pay to standardized test scores.”

Though some of the E4E recommendations and strategies are similar to those proposed by United Teachers of Los Angeles, the union does not support paying teachers based on their students test scores.

Ratliff was endorsed by UTLA but also spoke at an E4E forum during the campaign and has talked in the past about the need to improve teacher evaluation, tenure, and retention.

Ratliff has not yet responded to LA School Report‘s request for comment.

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