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mrsg, I would guess that part of the reason for teachers being under scrutiny based upon performance is that there may be a link between student performance and teacher performance.

I believe that most non-teacher/government workers face their job being on the line if progress is not shown. Teachers are no better than any other worker to face that. And unlike the typical worker in NC, teachers generally are not fired without cause. Remember, NC is NOT a right to work state.

And I am sick of hearing how teachers in NC have not had a raise in 4 years! I was an employee of NC in the early part of this century. Teachers received raises of 2%-5% while other "state" employees received no salary increase. There was a ONE-TIME payment of $500, before taxes. Teachers even received this as well as the raise in salary. Then there was another year where an additional couple of weeks vacation were given. Teachers received this extra vacation along with a salary increase. So, where were the teachers in speaking out about the inequality that was given to their fellow STATE employee's?

If a teacher chooses to stay in a difficult school, then that is the choice of the teacher. Stay and bear the burden or move on. Just stop the whining about poor pay, etc. It is an old broken record that needs to be taken out of circulation!

And the whin about students coming from "economically disadvantaged," i.e. POOR homes is another crock! I came from a home that while a child in school had a combined income of less than $15k for a family of FIVE! We received NO public assistance and had ongoing chronic medical issues to be dealt with, yet, I survived and flourished! Neither of my parents obtained a high school diploma. I worked diligently to succeed in school because I knew that I was expected to do as well as possible. I was not even able to go to college upon graduation from high school because it was not economically feasible, i.e., it was too expensive and there was NO money to pay for that!

If everyone were awarded monies based upon the effort that is put into something, then I would have been paid more than Bernie Madoff! That is just another falacy perpetrated by some teachers who only want employment security with a stable salary! I know far too many who have retired and then went back to teaching because they were bored! These teachers are drawing a pension, increasing what will eventually be drawn in social security when there are countless people without the money to even have a college education who NEED a job and are unable to secure one! Where is the compensation for these people?

And on the idea of paying bonuses when a school meets/exceeds testing goals; Is there a salary repayment when these schools do not meet goals? It would seem that should be the case. If one receives a bonus for meeting/surpasing goals, then money should be returned when those goals are not met/surpased!

I also know of teachers that I had while in school who should have NEVER been allowed in the classroom as a teacher in the first place, yet, they are still there 25-30 years later!

Find a good crowd that will take seriously the lame arguments that are presented and let me know what transpires.

And for the record, I have been in the classroom/s of underperforming schools. I also saw Special Ed. educators NOT doing their job and yet, no one even cared! These so-called educators were in direct violation of the agreement signed with the parent/guardian of the student. Yet, no one in the administration could have given a rat's a** about those students. So, that tells me exactly where and what the focus is all about!