Teachers union dragging its feet.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, link, has a few billion dollars to invest in education. States are competing for their share of the kitty. New Mexico is looking for $160M.

New Mexico's plan emphasizes finding ways to evaluate teachers and to then reward the better ones.

According to Journal editors, link, local Teachers Union President Ellen Bernstein, stands opposed.

The immediate problem with evaluating teachers is its subjective nature. One can have teachers take objective tests of their understanding of subject material, but there are no truly objective measures of their teaching effectiveness; at some point it usually boils down to an administrator's subjective evaluation of the teacher's effectiveness. At that point the process is corrupted; corrupt or incompetent administrators can reward teachers, or not, based on their personal prejudices regarding particular teachers. A bad teacher with an "in" will be rewarded, a good teacher who doesn't get along with the principal could be penalized.

We need to be able to figure out who the good and bad teachers are. One of the first responsibilities of professional organizations is to police their profession. In this respect, teachers unions and professional organizations have dropped the ball, and now someone is going to pick up the ball and do it for them.

It isn't going to be easy. If it were, it would be done already. The simple truth is that there is no magic bullet with respect to evaluating teaching; it is as much an art as a science.

That not withstanding, teacher unions need to get on the stick; lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.