Ky. Bill Seeks to Reward Math, Science Teachers (KY)

January 6, 2011

A bill seeking to reward Kentucky teachers with extra money for guiding students through advanced math and science classes won approval from the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.

The state’s initial yearly price tag would be $1.2 million, but the incentives would spur teachers to steer more students to take Advanced Placement exams in math and science, said Sen. Ken Winters, the bill sponsor.

Families would benefit by having students earn college credits while still in high school, he said.

"Many more students would be nurtured and brought through those programs at a level that would allow them to … qualify for college credits," said Winters, chairman of the Senate education panel.

The measure drew no dissenting votes, but four Democrats abstained from voting after raising concerns that targeting incentives for select teachers could sow dissension among faculty staffs or demoralize teachers left out.

Sen. Walter Blevins, D-Morehead, said the disparity could create "real havoc" at a time of lean school budgets.

"My concern is what happens within the school building when you use merit formulas when it doesn’t apply across the board," added Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville.

Winters, R-Murray, said he would like to see the initiative expanded, but said that fostering achievement in high-level math and science courses is the top priority for now.

He said he’d l ike to see the rewards begin with the 2012-13 school year.

Under the bill, a teacher could be rewarded with $500 for each low-income student who scores a 5 on a math or science AP exam. The reward would drop to $400 for each student scoring a 4 and $300 for each score of 3. Five is the top score, and scores of 3 or 4 are considered good, said Lisa Gross, a state Education Department spokeswoman.

Teacher rewards would range from $100 to $300 per student for similar scores achieved by students who are not eligible for free or reduce-priced school lunches.

Teachers could receive up to $7,500 per year apiece. Schools would receive amounts matching the total rewards given their teachers for high student achievement on math and science AP exams. Those matching funds would be distributed to other math and science teachers for their work helping prepare the students in prior courses.

Winters said the bill is partly modeled after an initiative called AdvanceKentucky, which works with several dozen Kentucky schools to improve participation and performance in college-level math, science and English courses.

The initiative is mostly funded from private grants. The program offers teacher training and student preparation sessions as well as the financial rewards to teachers.

Participating schools have seen sizable gains in the number of students taking and scoring well on AP exams, said Joanne Lang, executive director of AdvanceKentucky.