VOA慢速英语 2007 0927a

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

 
More than half the teachers in the Houston Independent School District, the largest in Texas, have earned merit¹ pay awards this year. Marjorie Hunt-Bluford is one of them.
The idea seems reasonable. Recognize better workers with extra pay. But it's not that simple. Performance may be easy to measure in some workplaces. But teachers say a classroom is not one of them.

Last year, we reported on a program in Florida to give merit pay to teachers if student scores increase on a statewide test. But a newspaper in Florida now reports that school systems across the state are rejecting the program for a second year.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune says only about one-third of the school districts in Florida may answer a call for proposals³ by October first.

Why? Teachers say the program forces them to compete against each other. They say it is unfair to link their pay to results on statewide tests. Also, a high school teacher told the paper that a limited budget means that some top teachers may not be recognized.

Critics say performance-based pay should recognize all that happens in a classroom, not just student performance on tests. All that will do, they say, is get teachers to teach to the test. This is already a concern now that yearly⁴ testing is federally⁶ required for millions of students.

Attempts at merit pay for American teachers have failed in many cases because of resistance⁷ from teachers unions or budget cuts.

Lawmakers in Congress⁸ are considering a proposal² to provide federal⁵ money for performance-based pay. It would give merit pay to teachers who do excellent work in schools in poor areas. But the proposal does not necessarily⁹ tie the pay to test scores.

Lawmakers and others point to a successful program in Denver, Colorado. It began in a few schools about eight years ago. Last year it was expanded to all the public schools in the city.

Teachers can earn more by working in unpopular schools or teaching¹⁰ unpopular subjects. They also can earn more by taking classes to improve their teaching, or by raising test scores. The plan also reduces teacher pay if students fail to improve on statewide tests.

A local tax increase pays for the program. Reports from Denver say more teachers are asking to work in lower-income areas. And parents in the Denver area seem to support it.

New programs have begun or are being planned in Minnesota, Maryland and Virginia. But many experts say there is still more to learn about the most effective ways to identify and recognize excellent teachers.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

1 merit   

n.优点，价值，功绩，成绩；vt.值得

参考例句：

• There is great merit in dealing fairly with your employees.公正地对待你的雇员有极大好处。
• History affords us lessons that merit attention.历史给我们提供了值得注意的借鉴。

2 proposal   

n.提议，建议；求婚

参考例句：

• I feel that we ought to accept his proposal.我觉得我们应该接受他的建议。
• They could not gain over anyone to support their proposal.他们无法争取到支持他们建议的人。

3 proposals   

n.提议( proposal的名词复数 )；推荐；求婚；赞成提案

参考例句：

• The director has given her assent to the proposals. 负责人已表示同意提案。
• The police gave the proposals their full backing. 警方对这些提案给予全力支持。

4 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

5 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

6 federally   

同盟地； 联邦地； 联邦政府地； 在联邦政府一级

参考例句：

• This development is federally funded. 这一发展项目是由联邦政府资助的。
• As new federally sponsored highways created better access to the suburbs, business patterns began to change. 由于联邦政府出资修筑的公路使城郊的交通更加方便，商业的模式开始变化。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

7 resistance   

n.抵抗力，反抗，反抗行动；阻力，电阻；反对；adj.抵抗的

参考例句：

• Very little resistance was put up by the enemy.敌人没怎么进行抵抗。
• An aircraft has to overcome the resistance of the air.飞机须克服空气的阻力。

8 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

9 necessarily   

adv.必要地，必需地；必定地，必然地

参考例句：

• More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
• A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。

10 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。