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View Point

By Karen Ginoza

Saturday, February 12, 2000

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Teachers are
already accountable

Governor Cayetano's emphasis on education in his State of the State address called for increased teacher accountability and competency in the classroom.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) agrees with the governor. In fact, HSTA is ahead of him.

HSTA agrees that every person hired to teach in our state should be fully qualified. That is why we have been working to ensure every teacher is knowledgeable and competent through various approaches:

Teacher competency test. A competency test is already in place. To become a teacher in Hawaii, prospective teachers must take the PRAXIS, which tests general liberal arts and content knowledge. Every teacher hired since 1986 has been required to pass this test. Anyone who does not has three years to pass PRAXIS or not be renewed.
Teacher evaluation. HSTA is currently bargaining a new instrument for evaluation, which will ensure teachers know their subject areas and keep current in methodology. This evaluation is tied to the standards of the Hawaii Teachers Standards Board.
Hawaii Teachers Standards Board. HSTA played a key role in creating this board, whose purpose is to ensure teachers meet specific standards. The board is in place and monitoring to make sure those standards are met.
Rewarding performance. HSTA has negotiated a new salary schedule that has performance-based steps that would reward teachers for outstanding performance. In addition, HSTA has negotiated a new system to provide incentive bonuses for schools.
Attracting the brightest. To ensure that the best teachers are attracted and retained in Hawaii's system, we must offer salaries and working conditions that are competitive and equal to those in other states. There is a teacher shortage across this country and, if we cannot offer our teachers higher pay based on experience and performance, we will be left out of the race.

In a recent nationwide education report related by Education Week, "Quality Counts 2000" looked at one of the most critical questions in education: What are states doing to attract, screen and keep good teachers? According to the report, Hawaii is not doing enough.

The report says far too many island teachers who have the basic credentials are not receiving the training, support and encouragement they need to "remain and grow in their profession."

Quality Counts 2000 also found that, in Hawaii, incentives are weak and hardly focus on the schools or subjects where teachers are needed most.

Hawaii's problems don't stop there. Based on our public education's class and school sizes, parental involvement, choice and autonomy, and school safety, Hawaii received a failing grade in the school climate category.

Simply put, to raise the quality of education, we need to attract and retain our best and brightest teachers. To do that, we must have more incentives -- improved working conditions, pay, resources, professional development and support.

We can have all the competency tests and accountability measures in the world. But, with lackluster incentives and poor working conditions, we would be setting up our teachers for failure.

I invite Governor Cayetano to come into our classrooms, spend time with our students and teachers, observe their work day, and see the conditions they work and learn in.

It isn't as simple as composing rhetoric for a State of the State Address.

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Karen Ginoza is president of the
Hawaii State Teachers Association.