On Nov. 4, Missouri residents will vote on Amendment 3, or the Missouri Teacher Performance Evaluation, which will change teacher tenure procedures in the state.

This controversial new amendment would grade teachers entirely on student performance evaluations. Performance assessment will be based entirely on these results to determine whether a teacher should be demoted, promoted or terminated.

“I don’t see too many pros to it, except that it might say to taxpayers, ‘look at how we make sure our teachers are accountable’ — but that is not how we want them to be accountable, not by one small evaluation,” Columbia Board of Education member Jan Mees said. “No one really knows the ins and outs of the system. A lot has changed.”

With the new amendment, teachers will be forced to emphasize the importance of getting good test scores rather than emphasizing the importance of an actual education, board member Paul Cushing said.

“The teachers will be hit the hardest,” Cushing said. “They are the ones who must deal with the test scores directly impacting themselves. The student performance has a lot of factors, which include the teacher’s performance, but it’s only part of the equation.”

Standardized tests not only ruin the enthusiasm of a student, but also frustrate teachers, the board members said.

With this amendment, teachers will be judged entirely on students’ test success when in reality many other factors play a role in a student’s life, Columbia Board of Education President Christine King said.

“I do believe that teachers should be, and are, evaluated on how they provoke change, hold a positive attitude and how their classes are succeeding,” King said. “With this amendment, they don’t have everything set up. Is a student’s success solely the result of one teacher? It is the result not only of one teacher, but the materials, all other teachers, home life, as well as what they do outside of home life.”

The tenure problem must be fixed, but this amendment is not the answer, King said.

“I do not think everything should be intertwined together,” King said. “If you want to fix tenure, fix tenure. But do not add tenure in with this amendment.”