Should teachers receive performance pay?

Question

I have a debate on this topic and am looking for other people's views... Many thanks

Answer 1

This is the first year our district offered performance bonuses based on students test scores. The bonus criteria requires modifying, and most of the complaints are about the criteria. For example, some of the perceived best teachers in the schools did not get bonuses, mostly because they had good students to start with and their good test scores didn't have much room for improvement.

Most teachers are not accustomed to being scrutinized as much, but such scrutiny is very common in just about every other industry and profession. I believe performance pay is a step in the right direction to raise the teachers salaries, and also to attract the good teachers into more needy schools and needy classes.

Performance pay is about the only tactic left to get the best teachers into the neediest schools. If you pay all teachers the same, which teacher wouldn't want to teach at the good performing schools? But if there are more incentives for teachers that can raise scores at the poor performing schools, now the teaching quality might be leveled.

With all that said, I still say the differences in a high performing school versus a low performing school are not the teachers or the administrators, but the students that make the differences.

Not all teachers are heroes. Just because a teacher is not a hero doesn't mean he isn't doing his job.

Answer 2

I am a teacher, and the way it would be done is the key.
If you teach in a low performing urban school how can you scale performance pay against a school that is in an upscale upper class area? Do you see the problems?
The teacher in the urban school may be doing a great job (as so many are) but the teacher who is in a high performing school may have the cards stacked in his or her favor because their students peform.
I really don't think you can do it fairly - it is not something you can administrate to every situation that is out there, and that is what would be required to implement it.
The teachers I know are caring, competent professionals - the answer may be better pay overall for encouragement, and to appropriate to the job that they almost all do.

Answer 3

Leroy,
Teachers work on product improvement. More and more frequently the products we are receiving have been damaged by their manufacturers. Also, in my state, VA, there are no teachers' unions.

To answer the question:
If there is to be pay for performance for teachers, it would have to measure students' individual improvement, not the teacher's passing rate on standardized testing. Some of the most talented teachers I have known in my career have been those who work with lower functioning students. These are the students who are least likely to pass those tests.

Answer 4

How do you measure the performance of a teacher? Who is going to decide? Also, teachers do not all begin on a level playing field in terms of students, schools, and resources.

The concept is good, just impossible to implement.

Answer 5

YES! I think they should. My child is in fifth grade and struggling with Math and Reading. I took her to Sylvan, she tested 2 grade in most of her Math and 3 grade in Reading, they want 10,000.00 dollars to get her where she should be. I think her past three teachers should have to repay the school because she is not the only child who is having problems. I would be all for performance pay. ABSOLUTELY!!! I`m open for help with this problem, also.

Answer 6

but what would qualify a person as a good teacher? would it depend on how well their students do on tests?

i am a student-teacher and i dont think that teachers would get performance pay, because i think it would be a bias system. teachers dont make quotas regarding things... teachers teach...

Answer 7

Yes. There are some real weird teachers at my school.. I think the good ones should get a rise instead.

Answer 8

I don't know. I think the concept itself is okay, but I think it will be abused and I think a lot of mediocre teachers will be rewarded and a lot of really good teachers will not be recognized. It's too political.

Answer 9

Teachers receive more pay than they deserve for the product they are turning out. They have a good union and we can't do anything about it. Our children are a mess!

Answer 10

yes