Concern over falling student test scores in the U.S., especially in subjects like math and science, have prompted many to rally for reform. "Pay-for-performance" is one of several options being considered by lawmakers in hopes they can improve student performance. The model ties teacher salary with how well their students perform on standardized tests. Kids who do well will earn a higher salary for their teacher than an educator down the hall who is teaching the same curriculum, but whose students do not fare well on the same standardized tests.
Research indicates there is a correlation between student achievement and teachers who rate high in their evaluations. Conceivably, teachers whose performance is high could find themselves at the top of the pay scale in just a few years, instead of waiting 25 years to make the same amount in the current system. Proponents of pay-for-performance believe this will motivate teachers to improve in the classroom, automatically helping students improve overall test scores.
Controversy surrounds the pay-for-performance model, but surprisingly, the idea that educators' salary should reflect performance or skill level isn't new. It was common in the late 1800s for teachers to be paid in relation to the education level of the children they taught. In other words, secondary level teachers usually earned higher rates than elementary-age students. It was thought that more skill was needed to teach higher-level grades, so those teachers should earn more than those teaching first graders.
Lawmakers are becoming increasingly in favor of using pay-for-performance to reform schools. Yet a survey of more than 40,000 teachers indicates that most overwhelmingly disagree with enacting pay-for-performance, largely because of the system used to determine which teachers deserve more, or less, money. The survey asked respondents to decide whether any of the following was an accurate measure of teacher performance:
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, recently discussed education reform on his Website, thegatesnotes.com. According to Gates, although per-pupil spending in the U.S. has doubled since 1973, 15-year-old American students rank behind 22 other countries in science and behind 31 countries in math. The new approach he advocates is a strong focus on "quality teaching" that ties gains in student achievement to teacher effectiveness. Yet he cautions that the system used to evaluate teacher performance should be fair.
Many teachers say that achievement means much more than how students perform on a standardized test, which does not necessarily indicate how successful they will be in college or a career. But they admit that those kinds of successes and strengths are difficult to measure. A good start, they say, is to make academic standards more clear and unified nationally so everyone agrees what it really means to be an educated 12th-grader.
Research indicates there is a correlation between student achievement and teachers who rate high in their evaluations. Conceivably, teachers whose performance is high could find themselves at the top of the pay scale in just a few years, instead of waiting 25 years to make the same amount in the current system. Proponents of pay-for-performance believe this will motivate teachers to improve in the classroom, automatically helping students improve overall test scores.
Controversy surrounds the pay-for-performance model, but surprisingly, the idea that educators' salary should reflect performance or skill level isn't new. It was common in the late 1800s for teachers to be paid in relation to the education level of the children they taught. In other words, secondary level teachers usually earned higher rates than elementary-age students. It was thought that more skill was needed to teach higher-level grades, so those teachers should earn more than those teaching first graders.
Lawmakers are becoming increasingly in favor of using pay-for-performance to reform schools. Yet a survey of more than 40,000 teachers indicates that most overwhelmingly disagree with enacting pay-for-performance, largely because of the system used to determine which teachers deserve more, or less, money. The survey asked respondents to decide whether any of the following was an accurate measure of teacher performance:
- Parent evaluation (7%)
- Teacher tenure (10%)
- Student evaluation (18%)
- Principal observation and review (22%)
- Teacher exercising a leadership role among peers (28%)
- Self-evaluation (31%)
- Teacher/peer observation and review (32%)
- Student growth over course of academic year (55%)
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, recently discussed education reform on his Website, thegatesnotes.com. According to Gates, although per-pupil spending in the U.S. has doubled since 1973, 15-year-old American students rank behind 22 other countries in science and behind 31 countries in math. The new approach he advocates is a strong focus on "quality teaching" that ties gains in student achievement to teacher effectiveness. Yet he cautions that the system used to evaluate teacher performance should be fair.
Many teachers say that achievement means much more than how students perform on a standardized test, which does not necessarily indicate how successful they will be in college or a career. But they admit that those kinds of successes and strengths are difficult to measure. A good start, they say, is to make academic standards more clear and unified nationally so everyone agrees what it really means to be an educated 12th-grader.
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