Dollars and Sense

As I grow older(wiser), I begin the realize the unfortunate truth. Money is the motivation of so many things that others claim are for the better good. Most recently, Florida passed a teacher merit pay bill, which was vetoed by the governor.

Do I believe in merit pay? Yes

Do I think some teachers go above and beyond? Yes

Will the same teacher always yield the same result with different students? No

Merit pay was instituted to save money. It had nothing to do with improving the quality of instruction or raise the bar. Let's talk about some of the things that were in this "merit-pay" bill. Presently, teachers are paid on a scale that reflects years of teaching experience. The bill would have removed that salary structure. Under the new law, I'm certain the starting salary would have been increased. That's great for attracting new talent, but those at the top of the scale would have received severe pay cuts.

Possible outcome....There would be no incentive for a seasoned veteran teacher to continue teaching. It would also be in the interests of the school to cut cost by removing those teachers who were once tenured. You get a school composed of new teachers.

More salary stuff...teachers with advanced college degrees are paid more. The merit pay law would also remove this incentive. What's the incentive for pursuing a masters or specialist degree? None. So, we have a building of new teachers and no one with advanced degrees.

How do we even the playing field and measure student gains? If I'm an art teacher, what test or instrument will be used to measure the gains of my students? Will teachers get paid as a whole that is reflected in the gains of the entire school? Why would anyone teach the challenging students? Sure, those who are poor performers have the means to gain the most, but they are also the ones with the greatest challenges. They are the ones that require the most attention.

On the other end of the spectrum, the students in honors and AP classes may have already topped out and have little room for significant improvement.

On the outside, paying teachers for the performance of their students is a wonderful idea. However, there are so many variables to consider and eliminate, that it would take an MIT or Davidson College student to figure out all the particulars.

College and professional coaches get paid more when their team wins. The difference is...they get to pick who they want on their teams. We are trying to make a cheese cake that tastes better than the ones at cheese cake factory. They pick the finest ingredients and public schools have to use what they get. We get some great ingredients, but there is that 2% that could ruin the batter.

The systematic destruction of public education continues to roll.