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What Kind of Merit Deserves Pay?

9/8/2012

1 Comment

 
I made an offhanded comment at a meeting recently regarding my distaste for the concept of merit-based pay and was taken aback by my reluctance to talk about the subject except in joke form. To that end, I asked a friend of mine to provide me some examples of what she thought might be beneficial for teachers when it comes to compensation reform. I do not necessarily espouse all these views but I find them interesting. 

She forwarded me to this website which discusses a particular type of merit-based pay: one that compares teachers to themselves only and provides compensation to all, regardless of how they perform in relation to another. Since one of the major criticisms is that this type of pay-for-performance would foment competitiveness between teachers and therefore negatively affect students, it seems to be a good idea. Additionally, if the evaluation criteria for "merit" includes test scores from students, there is plenty of potential of cheating and manipulation in order to boost salary. 

What evaluation criteria are used is probably the most important point in this debate. Specific things like test scores or "using hand gestures" might be easy to check off a box, but it does not tell the quality of a teacher. But what if we were evaluated by peers using evidence from the classroom itself - would that be better?

Even though teachers overwhelming care about other aspects of teaching more than merit pay as evidenced by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation study, it is still a hot-button issue. As a math teacher in Philadelphia I get an annual bonus of $1500 due to my teaching in a "high need field." Additionally, every year one teacher from each school receives the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teachers, which comes with a check (I believe it is over $2000). So what if there were better criteria that didn't make me focus on test scores or compete with other teachers - would I want that? Perhaps.
1 Comment
Charley
9/8/2012 11:37:26 am

I'd like to see teachers get paid enough that an extra $1.5K wouldn't tempt them, honestly. I don't know how much that is... But I'd like the awards to be $5K or more, if they exist, or to be scaled...maybe competing against yourself is a good idea... But I sort of see doing a good job as really good job security, not time for an award. Maybe time for a raise...?. And I see taking on extra work as meriting extra pay. But, I think that teaching is hard enough that I don't want teachers spreading themselves thin by taking on extra work to make extra pay. Let's just pay them enough. (Of course, who will run the science fair, the chess club, the math tournaments, coach mock trial teams....oh, wait. Parents. And then they will appreciate teachers more. Yeah, I'm sticking to my guns on this one....let's just pay teachers enough, train them, support them, and expect a lot from them. And work on reforming school so it's less nightmarish for everyone involved...)

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    I am a math teacher in the New York Department of Education. I infuse technology and real-world problems into my curriculum in order to prepare my students for the future. I would love for people across the country to recognize we teachers can't do it alone. If you don't believe me, come visit my classroom!

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