Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is making a new run at revamping how the district hires, evaluates, trains and pays teachers.

Last year, performance pay and a surge of new student tests used to rate teachers brought protests from educators and parents.

Today, top administrators will brief the school board on the "talent effectiveness project," a term that includes testing and performance pay. But it's not just a new label to deflect controversy, says board Chair Eric Davis.

"What we're working on is the wholeness of building a talented team," he said. "The pay is but one small piece."

Last spring, faced with complaints about low morale and suspicion that pay cuts were looming, board members and then-Superintendent Peter Gorman said they took the wrong tack in rolling out performance pay. By starting with complex "value-added" teacher ratings based on test scores, they said, they generated anxiety about paychecks and lost focus on how testing can be used to help teachers improve their skills and their students' learning.

The board and Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh, who took over when Gorman resigned in June, haven't backed away from the goals Gorman laid out. Using federal Race to the Top money, CMS is hiring two new communications staffers to help pitch the redefined plan to the public, the media and employees.

The district is recruiting new "working teams" of teachers to offer guidance on the best way to move ahead. Among the potential new standards for evaluating and paying teachers: Knowledge of the subjects they teach, ability to collaborate on student learning, classroom observations, surveys of student opinion, and quality of teachers' assignments and lessons - along with the value-added ratings.

Teachers volunteered for similar groups last year and discussed many of those same measures.

Kevin Strawn, an East Mecklenburg High math teacher who helped organize opposition to test-driven performance pay last spring, said Monday he's willing to listen, but still skeptical.

For instance, the district is emphasizing "formative tests" that help teachers quickly diagnose students' strengths and weaknesses so they can adapt their teaching. Strawn said he gave a CMS-designed formative test for Algebra II to students Aug. 30. He hasn't gotten any results back.

Strawn said he and others who called meetings to discuss problems with performance pay are now focused on the Nov. 8 school board elections. But he said he's eager to see CMS officials work with teachers and principals on a better evaluation system.