Barack Obama made no secret of the fact that he was an advocate of merit pay while he was running for office. His selection of his good friend Arne Duncan, himself a supporter of merit pay, was another indicator that a push toward merit pay would surface over the course of Obama's presidency. As you can hear from the following NPR report, Duncan is challenging the National Education Association, the union for most educators, to drop its opposition to merit pay as a part of teacher's salaries.
(click on the title to get to the NPR web page with the article). The NEA, a vocal opponent of merit pay, is hesitant, but apparently willing to consider because of the fact that a Democratic administration (who the NEA endorsed in the 2008 election) is requesting this suggestion.
The controversy over merit pay raises several issues dear to educators. When speaking to advocates, I am often willing to hear the value of such an approach. To be honest, I have no "real" (meaning financial) incentive to do a better job than my peers, as we are all compensated the same way. Winning teacher of the year, getting better state test scores, writing grants -- none of these do anything to improve my salary. And honestly, that is sort of a downer -- if my brother impresses a client when he is doing work at Ernst and Young, he gets a bonus. If my test scores are really good vs. the state, then maybe I get school recognition, but most times I don't. And that can be disheartening -- not that I always need extrinsic motivation -- but that I don't receive any while most other professions offer benefits (heck, even an occasional gift certificate to a restaurant would be nice) for good performance.
In Oregon, friends of mine are supporters of the Chalkboard Project, which has consistently pushed for us to accept a version of merit pay in Oregon as a means to improve education. They can be pretty convincing in what they present as a "need" for merit pay -- by having a business like model, more people could be attracted to the profession because there is a chance of earning more money, and their significant efforts would be rewarded just like their friends in the private sector. Additionally, they've argued that their system is a "third way" that does not get rid of tenure-based salary advancement. For more info, see Myth #2 on http://www.chalkboardproject.org/about-us/myths.php)
Now, on the flip side of this, my wife and I have always been very cautious about adopting a merit pay system. I think that's mainly because the concept of merit pay seems to be differently defined as you meander about the nation. Is merit pay a replacement for how I presently advance up the salary scale? So if I am a young teacher, am given a series of classes with academically "challenged" students (which is often the case) and then they (surprise!) don't do well on the first state test I am responsible for administering (in NOVEMBER), do I not get any type of raise?
As an IB teacher and department chair, if my salary were predicated by how well my students ended up doing, I don't think I would ever surrender my advanced classes if my family's well being depended on it, and I think many teachers in the same spot would hold onto those classes for years.
This creates a mentality then of "I'm out for myself" and moves me away from the collaborative nature of working in a school or a department. It can thus emulate some of the worst aspects of the business world -- I can remember working in advertising in New York and watching the salespeople bicker and fight over clients and magazine ad space. It became quite petty, and I'm unsure if the education world needs that on top of the myriad issues that already exist.
One opponent of merit pay initiative ponders why we simply don't pay teachers more overall. If we know that good people go where the money is, then why not make the system more lucrative for future teachers? The rationale there is then that if you make the job more attractive overall, you'll get better candidates and by design, the "weaker" teachers will be rooted out by more stringent hiring practices.
About.com does a nice job of summarizing some other pros and cons, so I'd urge you to examine this website as well: (http://k6educators.about.com/od/assessmentandtesting/a/meritypay_2.htm).
I'm curious what your take is, Oregon Social Studies teachers. I would hope that you read this entire post before you comment, and also, that you keep the conversation thoughtful and respectful. I've seen too many blog sites where people disintegrate to attacking all too quickly, so let's start by trying to keep a level head when sharing our viewpoints.
