The latest TV campaign commercial from opponents of the education reform propositions on Idaho’s November ballot focuses on Proposition 2, the teacher merit-pay measure, suggesting that Idaho’s state schools superintendent wants to “treat children like widgets.” The measure sets up a new merit-pay bonus system for Idaho teachers, allowing teachers to earn bonuses if their entire school shows growth in student test scores on the Idaho Standards Achievement Test. The law also allows bonuses for other student-achievement measures set by individual school districts, and next year, would cover additional bonuses for teachers who take leadership roles or hold hard-to-fill positions. The ad says, “Every child in Idaho is unique, but Tom Luna in his Propositions 1, 2 and 3 treat children like widgets. You see, Prop 2 links teacher pay to standardized testing results of Idaho kids”/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. More here.

Question: Ever worked with widgets?