So tell me, what happens if you've already been working as hard as you can all along? I don't know of any teacher who's been holding back, so I'm guessing we're going to all be in the same position. Somewhere I read that a merit-based pay system was tried in England in the past and the result was massive cheating.

This is another step toward the corporatization, and homogenization, of education. I teach upper level high school students in Physics and Chemistry; as a result, I see the consequences of a focus on passing tests and achieving standards rather than promoting exploration and curiosity for kids at the lower grades. For example: my wife teaches 4th grade science and language arts in another district, and has been told to reduce the breadth and depth of her curriculum in favor of, you guessed it, teaching to the test. Gone are the hands-on science kits, gone is participation in the amateur astronomy group, gone is the joy of watching a young mind turn on to the possibilities of exploration. In its place are a focus on getting the right answers, the ongoing litany of "is this gonna be on the test" (from both students and, sadly, administrators), and an endless series of science fair projects that have been repeated by 4th graders since I was in school. And yet, several teachers in her school, my wife included, would earn merit pay based upon the achievement of their students and their ability to follow the rules!

Our district has exceptional achievement on standardized tests, students perform as expected and are taught according to the rules, at least the latest version emerging from the education schools. As a consequence, when they arrive in my classroom they seek correct answers (rather than attempting to understand the implications of their own findings), are unable to design laboratory activities (unless they are given canned recipes from the often-error filled textbook), and, when confronted with a challenging, inquiry-based curriculum, they cast about like fresh-caught flounder on the docks! An example: We are involved in a competition to design cars and bridges for testing at a local university, a project which should, in theory, involve students in researching designs, testing prototypes, and eventually arriving at innovative solutions to real world problems. In the brave new world of standards-based education and pay for performance, however, students have become much more dependent on the teacher (me) to refine (and reality check) their designs, prod them incessantly about reaching deadlines, and cajole them relentlessly in order to get them to attempt a project that, if done well, could earn them at worst a day away from school on a college campus and at best a $100 prize. We even have had to pay these kids (with a raffle for an IPod, food, you name it) in order to get them to take the proficiency tests seriously.

Thinking has become an optional activity in our schools, and the twin scourges of standards and merit pay are largely to blame. While the corporate model may be enticing to those outside of education, and while the carrot of merit pay and National Board Certification has enticed some organizations within the national education community, the real effect of these types of reforms is to reduce the achievement expected of, and demonstrated by, our students. Merit pay reduces the likelihood of innovation in education, as few teachers are willing to risk their chances for earning merit pay by attempting to reach children and push them to achievement in alternative, innovative ways. By promoting the refinement of the status quo, we, as educators, are left in the unfortunate position of the Lakota after the Ghost Dance movement of the late 19th century. . . The reason for their failure, and ours, is the inability to perfect the "dance" of education, and only the best dancers will get the additional pay for their performance. The real losers in all of this are the children who have been miseducated under its hegemony.

I work in a public school in what is considered a "red apple" district. Schools have 70% on welfare. My school is not a low performing one, but we are in a district that is considered low performing. Within the framework of staff and students, teachers are still given disporportionant numbers of low performing students. If test scores are tied to a teacher's performance, this is highly unfair. There is no way a student who is at risk and two grade levels below can bring it up to the NoChildLeftBehind standards. How will a principal fairly assess if a teacher is entitled to merit pay when his or her class is "stacked" with this kind of student, Another teacher may have a balance of those who are at risk, those at grade and those above grade.Their test scores are going to look much better.

On contract teachers are paid for seven hours a day. I often put in 10.
Your article on the charter school shows monies being offered if there is improvement. What if your district has no extra money?

The 800 lbs. gorilla in the classroom that is not addressed by merit pay is the continuing practice of social promotion. Far less expensive than merit pay is placing your most seasoned teachers in a timely manner with students who are having more difficulty meeting grade level standards, rather then dumping them on the new teachers who have neither the seniority nor skill to deal with them.

The reality of human brain development clearly shows that there is a limited window of opportunity in adequately stimulating brain development- all the king's horses and all the king's men will not give you a second chance in middle or high school if you fail to adequately develop the brain in elementary school and before.

60% of the students applying for admission to the junior college system in Los Angeles need remediation in math and English as is measured by required placement examinations which they must take and pass before being allowed to take junior college courses. And yet the Los Angeles Unified School District continues to enroll students in Algebra even though they clearly cannot perform the foundational basic math skills necessary to be successful in Algebra.

If the political agenda of big city school districts was made subservient to a more pragmatic approach to addressing students measurable deficits in a timely manner, then merit pay might be appropriate for the teacher heroes that would be faced with the daunting task of fixing the premeditated mistakes of this presently politically driven public education system.

If done correctly, I think merit pay would be awesome. We all know veteran teachers who are not effective educators. Should they be earning $40,000 more than an effective teacher with less experience?

I couldn't agree with you more. I am acutally an ex-employee of the charter school mentioned in this article and am happily working for LAUSD. There are many more of us no longer working at the charter school that are very happy working for the district. There are so many things not mentioned about performance based pay in this article. Did they mention the teacher turn over rate or teacher retention rate at this school? They interviewed one person from the school, what about the teachers that are no longer there? Performance based pay is not the answer. Parent involvement and experienced, dedicated teachers are.

I'm a student at Allegheny College conducting a study on merit pay. I've been having a lot of trouble trying to find information on individual school districts that offer merit pay. If you know of a public high school that has recently adopted a pay for performance/incentive system, could you please email the name of the district and location. Thanks for the help

Brandon

skarmagedon@netscape.net

I believe that some of us are missing some key issues here - we do not HAVE to teach to the test! We can still involve the students in problem solving and creative thinking skills! In fact, I feel it should be encouraged!!!!! Those students will still be ultimately prepared for those standards-based tests if we are providing them with novel lessons and fun learning activities; however, they will also gain background knowledge and content that "teaching to the test" cannot possibly give them.
In the article, merit pay does not necessarily mean: student does well on test, teacher gets check; it should mean (in a well-run system) that there are many balanced factors put into a formula and weighed, so that all are given equal opportunities at the "prize"!
Perhaps those of you who are so ready to throw in the towel at the idea of a world where pay for performance enters into the school system, shouldn't be teaching at all! In my experience it is you who are also the ones who ARE teaching to the test and are too tired to do anything else anymore!

As a school board member, I was going to forward this article to my Board as an "fyi", until I realized that merit pay was coming from a charter school. Since the notion of charter schools is anathema in our neck of the woods, I won't even waste my time forwarding the post. I would, however, like to comment on the "comments". I come from a community where 70% of the Black families are low income. So where do those students get "stacked"? Who is to teach them, and what should the expectations be? Based on the recent Supreme Court ruling which in effect hastens the re-segregation of our schools, they will be "stacked" where they won't affect the "normal" children and their families.

For those of us in the business of wanting all children to have a chance at success, I contend that the real 800 pound beast in the room is the notion that the public schools are in-fact, already fullfilling their mission. And that current attempts to change the system must be fought vigorously. This writer believes that there is evidence suggesting that education for the masses was never intended to actually "educate", but to prepare people for the stratified positions that they were expected to take once leaving school. Any attempt whether genuine or disengenuous proporting to materially change this paradigm must be vigorously opposed. So, even if the rather benign notion of setting a reasonable pay for service and then giving financial incentative to those who excell at providing that service is proposed, it must be fought at every point because such a notion might actually help change the order of the society. And that, unfortunately apprears to be un-American.

If nothing else, these initiatives which generate only moderate success when major overhauls and improvements are needed may at some point lead a segment of our society to push for the dismantling of public education as we know it and replacing it with people and systems who will truly educate the public, not just the affluent.

Brandon, under a system called ATPPS (Alternative Teacher Performance Pay System), many MN public school districts now have systems in place. Off hand, you could take a look at St. Cloud, MN or Wayzata, MN. I'd search the web using ATPPS and MN or look at the state department of ed's website.