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December 7, 2011 in Region
Washington stays near the top in board-certified teachers
OLYMPIA — Washington state has the second-most teachers in the nation who earned national board certification this year.
Those 945 teachers join more than 6,000 others in Washington state who now earn a $5,000 bonus each year for proving they are accomplished in their work. The governor and the head of the state education department commended the teachers for earning the certification.
The state gives a second $5,000 bonus to board certified teachers who teach in a challenging school, where at least half the kids qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. State education officials say more than 30 percent of the new certified teachers work in a challenging school.
The president of the state’s largest teacher’s union is encouraging the Legislature to reject proposals to cut the bonus system for this program.
© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Antsy toddler kicked off plane at Sea-Tac 
force_vector on December 07 at 5:47 p.m.
A lot of good that has done. The number of Washington students at or above the National Center for Education Statistics proficient level: 34%
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/
But yeah, congratulations.
For the inevitable “but what about that idiot state Idaho?”..37%. Is that something to be proud of? No. But it should give people pause before assuming that some board certification equals success. Unless of course success is measured by bonuses for teachers.
dtmelin on December 07 at 6:02 p.m.
That report puts us above or at national avg. Pretty much across the board, not sure what #’s you’re looking at.
And WA ranks #10 nationally for combined SAT/ACT avg. scores…….& #32 nationally for teacher pay avg.
Quit your complaining. Way to many people get on here to moan & complain.
SLKS on December 07 at 6:05 p.m.
force_vector - Great job misreporting the data (maybe a refresher in basic statistics?). In WA, 34% of 4th graders or at or above PROFICIENT in Reading, while a total of 67% are at or above BASIC (which is meeting basic grade level expectations). Furthermore, in 2011, 83% of 4th grade students were at or above Basic in Mathematics, with 45% at or above Proficient.
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on December 07 at 6:09 p.m.
Whatever. Teachers are evil, unions are evil, teachers’ unions are evil, teachers who are members of unions are evil. Please make a note of it.
The_Seer on December 07 at 6:15 p.m.
The reason Washington is among the leaders in National Board Certification is because Washington is one of the few states that offers bonuses to salary for those who become qualified. I know several board certified educators who can’t teach their way out of a wet paper bag. It means nothing except one jumped through hoops and I’ve never witnessed a teacher who went through the process who was denied certification. Pay the money, do the “work” and the rubber stamp gets down to business.
force_vector on December 07 at 6:23 p.m.
SLKS - So sorry. I didn’t realize that “basic” was the goal, particularly with so many “certified” teachers. I wish I could have gotten a job out of college with “basic” grades, and not ones that showed I was proficient. I could have had a much better time.
The report very clearly shows, that while in some cases Washington ranks above the national average, in all cases where that is true, it’s not by much. And, the national averages are low to the point of stupid.
I didn’t get on here to beat up on teachers or anything. Rather, I wanted to point out that “certifications”, many times, have no bearing on real-world results. As such, the percent of teachers having certifications doesn’t matter, until statistics show that those certifications lead to increased results in student achievement. Being near the top in “certified” teachers, and statistically tied with the national average in achievement, tells me that certifications are worthless for the students, and worth $5k for teachers.
Sorry if you disagree.
westerly on December 07 at 6:31 p.m.
This enhances teachers lives and status among their peers……does nothing for students learning achievements. Still abysmal. More smoke and mirrors from STU. Kill it. Its part of the recession fallout.
D Statler on December 07 at 7:37 p.m.
The bonuses will go far towards hiring a paraeducator or twenty. I agree with cutting the bonusess. The extra one on one time in the classrooms at the elementary level is very important. I believe that our schools should take advantage of older students to fill in the gaps when possible. There are some very good High school kids that would be happy to help if given credit for it. Time again to think outside the box alittle. There used to be an advantage to teaching in a one room schoolhouse. :^)
Jethro_toll on December 07 at 7:41 p.m.
Now if Gregoire would increase their pay for the two years of hard work to get certified.
avocet on December 07 at 8:01 p.m.
Big whoop. It doesn’t change the fact that remedial-level classes in math and English at colleges and universities are bursting at the seams.
DickAdams on December 07 at 8:21 p.m.
One of the posters gives credit to (IMO the questionable statistics), bonuses they received. Obviously, the poster hasn`t read the works of Peter Drucker or Masilow, the two top behavioral scientific authorities this country has ever seen. Both say, money has nothing to do with achievement.
SLKS on December 07 at 9:14 p.m.
DickAdams…you read between the lines WAAAAYYYY too much.
SLKS on December 07 at 9:21 p.m.
force_vector - I’m not saying that I disagree with your general point. However, I do tend to take exception to people reporting on statistics of which they clearly have no understanding. “Basic” means that a student is meeting grade level expectations, meaning that they are working at AT LEAST grade level. Misinformation spreads rampantly because people fail to educate themselves before commenting. Bravo sir/madam.
force_vector on December 07 at 9:44 p.m.
SLKS - Thanks for the English lesson. When you’ve taken statistics, please feel free to come back and we can discuss all the nuances of mathematics.
SLKS on December 07 at 10:00 p.m.
I’ve taken an AP stats class in high school, one undergraduate level stats course, one graduate level course, and three separate research methods courses. Plus, my job requires me to works with statistics daily. Nice try on the burn though.
force_vector on December 07 at 10:08 p.m.
Good for you. I’ve taken college level statistics, three years of calculus, differential equations and linear algebra. And I too use advanced mathematics at work as a physical scientist. So, tell you what, you don’t tell me I need a statistics refresher, and I won’t point out to you that your justification for such a statement is based on pure semantics, not mathematics.
SLKS on December 07 at 10:14 p.m.
Ugh…just let it go. You misinterpreted the meaning of the data. As a “physical scientist”, you would probably agree, that interpreting data without knowing the defining factors, is worthless. All I was pointing out is the definitions of “basic” and “proficient”, with which you were unfamiliar, yet still reported. Good night…relax.
liberal_in_right_wing_land on December 07 at 10:26 p.m.
Meanwhile teachers flee Idaho at the first chance the get.
dtmelin on December 08 at 7:20 a.m.
The fact of the matter is that our state is below the national average in teacher pay..WITH the small bonuses. & our students are performing at better than nat. averages. Not sure why theres a strong anti-teacher bent here. A lot of them go to college for 5-6 yrs to earn a $45,000 salary. & they’re teaching OUR kids. Why not support them??? It’s easy to rant on a message board…why not go volunteer@ your local school, it’d be a better use of that pent up energy.
dtmelin on December 08 at 12:05 p.m.
AND we have the 5th highest class sizes in the nation….and rank 33 rd in spending/pupil.
So…. Above average student achievement, below average teacher pay, some of the largest classes in the country & below avg. spending on schools.
Sounds like “our” teachers are doing a terrible job, huh?!!! Wow……