TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 22 (UPI) -- Florida school teachers' raises and bonuses will be linked to their students' standardized-test scores starting next year under a new state law.
Republican Gov. Jeb Bush said teachers should face the same competitive pressures as workers in private enterprise, The Washington Post reported.
"What's wrong about paying good teachers more for doing a better job?" Bush said.
Although only the top 10 percent in each field will receive the 5-percent salary supplement, all public-school teachers in Florida will be affected by the new pay policy because their annual evaluations will rely "primarily" on "improved achievement by students," the report said.
But Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, a teachers' union, said the group will challenge the pay policy to a state administrative judge.
"Standardized tests don't measure everything in a child's life in school," Ford said. "We should take a look at the total education and not just what they can put on a bubble (answer) sheet."
