Performance-Based Pay for Public School Teachers

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What are good teachers worth, and what is the best way to compensate them? Will paying teachers based on student performance increase the performance of teachers? As student test scores continue to fall, teachers are increasingly being held accountable for the performance of their students. This concern has resulted in a mounting interest and the implementation of a performance-based pay system for public school teachers. Many believe if performance-based pay works in private corporations and businesses, it should work also work for schools. Paying teachers based on student performance instead of seniority is growing in popularity, as politicians, school officials and parents desperately struggle to improve public schools.

Traditionally, a public school teacher’s salary has been based on one’s classroom experience, and level of education. By taking the highest academic degree a teacher has earned, and the number of years one has spent teaching, together determines a teacher’s salary. More than 96 percent of public school districts pay teachers according to a single salary schedule of this type (Hudson). But today, many are now calling on schools to tie teacher pay directly to student performance. Government officials have allocated billions of dollars to finance and determine the effectiveness of performance-based pay systems. In 2006, Congress created the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), an initiative that awards grants to districts and states that put performance-based pay programs into practice (Turner). The Obama Administration has recently created the $4.3 billion Race to the Top fund which encourages states to execute performance-based pay systems and other changes (Rosales). Legislators and elected officials are answe...

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...on, Lewis, and Michael Podgursky. "The Pros and Cons of Performance-Based Compensation." Web Missouri. Milken Family Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. .

Townsend, Trina. Pulaski Community School District Board Member. Personal interview. 29 Mar. 2011.

Troen, Vivian, and Katherine Boles. "How 'merit pay' squelches teaching - The Boston Globe." Boston.com - Boston, MA news, breaking news, sports, video. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. .

Turner, Dorie. "States push to pay teachers based on performance - USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. N.p., 8 Apr. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. .

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