By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

NEWARK, N.J. – Newark school officials and union leaders are considering a plan that would withhold automatic, annual pay raises from employees who receive unsatisfactory job evaluations.

That’s right. A concept that would fall under the heading of “common sense” for most Americans is starting to take root in a state where unproductive union rules have dominated the education landscape for decades

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The Wall Street Journal reports that “only teachers evaluated as ‘effective’ or ‘highly effective’ on a new four-tier scale would be eligible for pay increases that are now tied to how many years they have worked.” (Automatic pay hikes are commonly known as “step raises.”)

Educators who receive ratings of “partially effective” or “ineffective” would not receive automatic bumps in pay, but they’d still receive raises related to the acquisition of more college credits, the paper reports.

The four-tier rating scale is part of New Jersey’s new education reform law that was recently signed by Gov. Chris Christie.

Surprisingly, the Newark Teachers Union seems open to the plan, but wants the new teacher evaluation system to include “peer review,” which allows teachers to observe and mentor each other, reports the Journal.

Allowing union teachers to evaluate each other seems like a loophole big enough to drive a truck through, but that’s a decision Newark and state officials will have to make.

Another sticking point is whether penalized teachers could make up lost ground on the pay scale if or when they begin receiving good job ratings.

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“It’s like a lifetime sentence,” the union official told the Journal. “You’re minus that money all the way into your career.”

The same could be said for the kids who get stuck with a lousy teacher: It’s a lifetime sentence because students are minus a year of quality instruction all the way through their academic careers. It takes a really effective teacher helps them make up ground somewhere down the line, and there’s no guarantee that will happen.

The New Jersey Education Association – which is unaffiliated with the NTU – is opposed to the entire concept. The state’s largest teachers union claims that any type of merit pay plan is “destructive” and only creates unhealthy “competition” among educators.

The NJEA is apparently injecting itself into the Newark discussion because it fears withholding raises from undeserving teachers might catch on throughout the Garden State.

That’s the best possible thing that could happen for parents, students and taxpayers who justifiably count on quality teachers to deliver in the classroom.