Teacher Pay being Tied to Student Performance

Ashley and Elizabeth Andrew Buckle

November 20, 2014

Intasc Standard #5: Application of Content

The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision.

Name of Artifact: Contemporary Issues ProjectDate: November 20, 2014Course: Education 101

Description: - For this assignment, We choose a widely controversial topic , teacher pay being tied to student performance. We did so by comparing and contrasting different views and arranging them in a PowerPoint presentation. This allowed us to opening up our minds and see not only the pros , but also the cons of merit pay. Doing this will allow us to see different perspectives and grows as future educators.

Rationale: To document our understanding of Standard #5, Application of Content: We created a PowerPoint presentation comparing and contrasting the pros and cons of performance pay. By better understanding how and why this takes place we can change our perspective and better educate ourselves.

Background Information • Merit pay, or performance pay, for teachers is a

bonus pay awarded to them for good performance.

• Was passed in 2011

• At least 42 states have some kind of merit pay, according to the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University

• “20% of the score is based on student test scores” (Butrymowicz, 2012)

• Giving teachers incentives could increase student performance.

• Merit-pay can be designed to encourage collaboration.

Pros

Pros• Incentivized teachers will work harder

and produce better results

• Rewarding if you produce good results (test scores)

• “Independent researchers have found that evaluating and paying teachers for test scores is either damaging or irrelevant to improved learning.” (FairTest, 2009)

• Unhealthy competition between teachers

• Teachers are put against each other

• “Performance pay may in fact drive more talented teachers out of the profession.” (‘Tying Teacher Salaries to Test Scores Doesn’t Work’, n.d.)

Cons

• Will not attract strong teachers

• Will lead to more standardized testing and test prep

• Make everyone teach and behave in the same way (No originality)

• Cause a lot of anxiety for teachers

Cons

● “Designed in collaboration with educators across Indiana, RISE looks at a teacher’s professional practice as well as evidence of student learning to paint a fair, accurate, and comprehensive picture of an educator’s performance.” (How RISE Works, 2011)

● Four rating levels: Highly Effective, Effective, Improvement Necessary, and Ineffective

RISE Evaluation and Development System

Ineffective ImprovementNecessary

Effective HighlyEffective

1.0 Points

1.75 Points 2.5

Points3.5 Points

4.0 Points

RISE Grading Scale

Should Teacher Pay be Tied to Student Performance?

Will performance payMake the teachers

workHarder causing better

Test results?

• Butrymowicz, S. E. A. S. (2012, April 9). Questions Abound As Districts Shift To Merit Pay For Teachers. (T. H. Post, E.d) Huffington Post. Retrieved From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/merit-pay-for-teachers-in_n_1413161.html

• Paying Teachers for Student Test Scores Damage Schools and Underestimates Learning. (n.d.). Fair Test: The National Center for Fair and Opening Testing. Retrieved from: http://fairtest.org/paying-for-student-test-scores-damages-schools

• WELCOME. (n.d.). Retrieved From: http://www.riseindiana.org• Tying Teacher Salaries to Test Scores Doesn’t Work. (n.d.). Retrieved

From: http://parentsarcossamerica.org/performancepay/

References