Boston Teachers Union Reluctant On New Salary Proposal

A new proposal from the Massachusetts Teachers Association to link teacher assessments to student test scores is already running into controversy in Boston.

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson is pushing the MTA to agree to use student MCAS scores to help evaluate teacher effectiveness.

However, speaking with Morning Edition's Bob Oakes, Boston Teachers Union President Richard Stutman expressed reluctance.

"We have been negotiating this concept and we've rejected much of what the school department has offered," Stutman said. "The school department's plan is not as fully flushed out as the MTA plan, and we look forward to continuing the conversation with the school department."

Stutman argued that if there are concerns regarding the accuracy of MCAS scores to measure student performance, he was concerned to link them to teachers' performance.

"People are very skeptical of the MCAS as a student indicator," Stutman said. "If it doesn't measure accurately student growth, how can it be used to measure teacher growth?"

On Monday, Paul Toner, president of the MTA, told WBUR that change in the area of teacher evaluations was inevitable.

Responding, Stutman argued that change was possible. However, what kind of change remained his primary concern.

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