Merit Pay CAN work~but let's not leave it up to Government

Though highly controversial because we simply don't have enough history to learn from, Merit Pay for Teachers Shows Results. When executed in the right context, teachers can be given the proper incentive and yield strong academic advancement for our children. As well, though it would probably be ill-advised for Congress to write merit-pay legislation into a renewed 'No Child Left Behind' because we don't have a long enough track record, that doesn't mean Congress won't do it.

"Teachers didn’t report any of the problems that opponents have predicted would result from performance pay: a divisive school atmosphere, neglect of low-performing students, and favoritism.

Some Members of Congress are considering including performance pay in legislation to renew the No Child Left Behind Act. But it would be a mistake for Washington to begin setting pay policies for the country’s 15,000 school districts. The ACPP was a state-conceived initiative. The best way to encourage innovative policies is by reducing the federal role in education. States and local communities would then have more flexibility to experiment with new approaches.

After all, arguments against performance pay have some merit. Conceivably, a principal could show favoritism toward a teacher who happens to be his golfing buddy. Any reform has to be designed and implemented in a way that avoids those problems, and there is no reason to believe that Washington is best suited for the task.

Almost every business in the private sector has found a way to evaluate, pay, and promote employees based on their individual performance. Their motivation in doing so is direct accountability to investors and shareholders. Likewise, state officials and local school boards are better positioned to design effective, innovative education policies because they are more directly accountable to parents and taxpayers."

I would like to highlight one line: "The best way to encourage innovative policies is by reducing the federal role in education."

My supporting statement comes from the above paragraph too: "Almost every business in the private sector has found a way to evaluate, pay, and promote employees based on their individual performance. Their motivation in doing so is direct accountability to investors and shareholders."

And finally: "The best way to encourage innovative policies is by reducing the federal role in education."

I believe my 84 year old Father had it right when he said that our government hasn't done anything better than the private sector since the GI Bill in the 1950's!