Should teachers receive incentive pay for improving student performance?

I fully agree with the writer that teachers should be given incentives if improvement is to be realised especially in science subjects like Maths, becuase teachers need more time with the students.

I do not believe in incentive pay for the reasons listed, but also, I believe that many variables affect learning and teachers are just one of these variables. To rate teachers on the basis of reult for which they are only one part of the equation going into this result seems wrong. It seems pretty egotistical to think that we have the total control over whether or not a student does well.

All teachers are underpaid and should be paid more. In general, school systems are ironically deficient in providing the support, both financial and otherwise, for the continued education and quality professional development that are essential for being effective facilitators for our students. There is an abundance of artificial success data within the structure of mass testing we do not need to further reinforce the process. When a teacher finds within the student the positive creative seed that will propel the student forward and engage the child's intrinsic motivational trigger we all win. "It" is all about the individual child and the way in which she learns and grows. If we are to leave no child behind we must walk beside each individual child until we arrive.

Absolutely teachers pay should be incentive or merit based. Student testing should be only part of the equation while strong weighting should be put on administrative review. I am also a firm believer that administrators should have incentive or merit based. Administrators pay can also be tied to student achievement as well, as well as 360 review from teachers and from superintendents, etc. While I understand that not all variables are in the control of teachers (much can be related to parenting), there is still the ability to look across student achievement results and find commonality. No profession should be left to across the board raises and pay structures; this type of system leads to people being complacent and not continuing to put forth an effort to grow and achieve more. Teachers who put in extra time, effort, and see results from those should be rewarded. This country was built on the idea of a marketplace, and it is through competition that we have seen our biggest and best advances.

As a member of the business world, I thought incentive pay for teachers was a great idea. And then I became a teacher. Incentive pay for teachers based on student performance is wrong on many levels and can never be compared to a business. But, at the basic level, no matter how hard I work, how creative my lessons are, how much the lessons integrate skills into content, how much they are tied into the "real world" or incorporate different strategies to reach all students, at the end of the day, I have no say in whether or not a student engages in these lessons outside of the classroom. How, then, can my worth as a teacher then fall on the results of the student who does nothing despite all my efforts? More importantly, how can my worth as a teacher then fall on the results of standardized test that some students do not take seriously because it has no effect on their grades, their ability to graduate or their ability to get into colleges? The general public looks to teachers to be more accountable for teaching, but does not ask students to be more accountable for their learning or parents to be more accountable to reinforce that learning.

Only in certain situations, where student gains are compared to where the student began at the beginning of the year, is paying a teacher more for student improvement fair and acceptable. This would either need to be the same test taken both times, or done not using a test at all, which I have found are not nearly as good at showing ability as a performance assessment is.

I do not think that it is fair to create incentives based on the student's performance. There are so many other variables--aside from the teacher--that affect the outcomes of a child's performance. A teacher can do everything perfectly, but a child may still not meet expectations because of this or that. I agree, it would create an unpleasant atmosphere. Teachers--really good teachers--are scared right now because of NCLB. Instead of offering incentives, teachers across the board should be offered a raise, assistants, bonuses, gifts of appreciation, more money for the classroom. They shouldn't be threatened with molded standards.

Hmm, I like the idea of rewarding continued efforts by teachers. 99% of teachers I know work their hearts out, and do wonders. There are a few, just like in any profession, that "take up space in the classroom" (as a previous poster said), but I think those are rare. What I'd really like to see is making pay (and benefits) for legislators based on a performance scale. Let's talk about THAT. :)

I completely agree with Erin Holland's comment above. During my short career in education I have seen a handful of teachers assigned to teach basic-level learners literally work day and night to help each individual student improve. The sad truth is that these all-stars are compensated at the same rate as the low-performing teacher down the hall. If there is evidence that a teacher has made a difference in a once underachieving student's performance, then I believe he or she should be compensated for a job well done. mattskillen.com

No. I do not believe that teachers should receive "incentive" pay. I believe that teachers pay should be higher than what it is. I believe that teaching is a very rewarding profession, in and of itself. It is also a very challenging one. Students have changed. Students learning has changed. It will never shift backwards. We must move forward and change with it! We have to! We chose this profession, presumably with the intention of working with young people, helping them grow, and guiding them towards a rewarding and fulfilling career and life. The subject matter we teach should simply be the vehicle we use to reach them. We have a major challenge and should rise to the occasion. Incentives would only get in the way of our priorities----the students---and cause negativity, competition, dissatisfaction, and sway us from what we truely were hired to do.