There was an interesting article in the paper today-follow the link below
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008380163_gateseducation12m.html
about merit pay. The rest of the article is wonderful of course. All about how we need to increase the graduation rate of our teenagers-down to 20% in inner city schools. But if you read the entire article a representative from a teachers' union says that if they want to reward teachers according to their students' test results-they will have nothing to do with it.
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I read this as well. I just feel uneasy about merit pay for teachers. I know in my former profession merit pay or "paying for results" was no big deal but in education it just seems so wrong. I agree we need to hold teachers to the highest standards (just as Obama says) but what if a wonderful teacher just has a challenging bunch of kids? What if these kids overcome great obstacles in their learning but fall behind what the "expected results" are supposed to be? I truly believe that all children are not the same and how can you expect a teacher to get everyone to the exact same level? I know from personal experience that I was way behind in school in reading/writing/literacy. I did catch up eventually (around 3rd/4th grade) but I just didn't "get it" as fast as most of the other kids. I had great teachers and I certainly tried my best but I was not at grade level nor would I have passed any performance test. Should my teachers have been penalized for this? And won't merit pay just create a "teaching to the test" phenomenon? Is that good for kids?
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