Teacher merit pay is a bad idea

September 2nd, 2009

Is it fair for your job performance to be based upon the performance of others who have no interest in your well-being?

Most employers have a system in place to evaluate their employees to determine if they are doing their jobs correctly, taking initiatives, ready for promotion, or in need of remedial training. When used correctly, this is actually a good system to determine raises and the amount of a raise depending on how well an employee performs in the workplace. When they are based upon the employee’s performance, then it can be instituted fairly. If, however, it is based upon another person’s performance, it can never be fair.

Teacher merit pay sounds like a good idea on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper, you will see that it is based not on teacher performance, but student performance on tests. The same tests a rising number of education professionals are questioning as to their validity in determining student knowledge. I am a good test-taker. Give me a standardized test on just about anything and I could probably pass it – not because I know the material, but I’ve learned how to play the test-taking game. I passed many a test in high school and college that I never studied for just by the process of elimination.

standardtest Standardized test scores are invalid because they do not follow the progress of an individual student and compare their scores from year-to-year to see if they are on grade level. Instead, this year’s grade-level scores are compared to last-year’s grade-level scores. Any education professional should know each class has their own strengths and weaknesses. Therefore a class of students cannot be compared to the class ahead or behind. A system needs to be developed to follow a student throughout school and determine if that student is making adequate progress, or if he or she needs help – then get them that help.

On test day, little Johnny doesn’t feel well, or just doesn’t care, so he does poorly. Johnny doesn’t care because there is no accountability for him for these tests. Colleges don’t see them, employers don’t see them, so why should he care? It is unfair to evaluate a teacher, or even a principal, based upon student test scores when there is no consequence for the student.

In Muskogee, I believe the school district is unfairly basing the pay for the school principals on test scores of students. We need to find a better way of evaluating teachers and principals than basing it on student scores.