Student Performance Determines Teacher Pay

Posted by Barbara Pytel Jun 14, 2009

The NEA, National Education Association, is strongly against teacher performance being based solely on student scores. Unfortunately, throwing support to Barack Obama who appointed Arne Duncan as Education Secretary is yielding just that...sort of.

Duncan and Obama have always been enthusiastic toward performance based pay with modifications. Both believe teachers deserve merit pay and those that have better results should be compensated for their achievement. The question is just how we should rate a good teacher over a poor teacher.

School districts and the state governments will receive a portion of $5 billion stimulus package to reward those that are innovative and think out of the box in education. How do the unions view this concept? Mixed. Unions are not totally against merit pay but do not want student scores to be the sole determining data.

At the moment it seems to be a possibility that the unions will work on a merit pay system with the administration to reach a compromise that will please both sides. Charter schools are also to be encouraged in all states as part of the new directives.

What if a state says they are not interested in the administration's suggestions? Duncan warned that future stimulus funding would be withheld if there was a failure to embrace the innovations. Well! Sort of reminds me of when mom used to say, "Do it or you will be sorry."