MERIT PAY FOR TEACHERS

Merit Pay for Teachers

Merit Pay for Teachers

Introduction

Merit pay has been a very popular, and controversial, topic in the education circles in recent years. It is a way in which educators are financially compensated for perceived higher levels of job performance (Wilson, 2003). There are numeral different ways that this can be implemented. Some of these are merit-based salary schedules, bonuses, and incentive pay. School districts can tie in the various forms of merit pay into the regular salary schedule or develop a separate pay scale (Yeager, 2000).

Many teachers are paid on merit pay, or pay-for-performance. Studies show that this is not the answer sought. Need is a policy that lets the head of the school districts see first hand what kind of teachers they have and to what extreme they are willing to go (Hadley & Sheingold, 2003). In elementary and middle school it was the principal, high school the principals and vice principals, and in college it is us, the students, who fill out the form of how well liked the teachers is and how decent of a job they do.

Merit pay is one of the most common ways teachers are paid here in the United States. However, in other areas, pay-for-performance plans have been developed that not only resemble merit pay but link individual teacher compensation to students' test scores (Sadker, 2007).

Discussion

Presently, Merit Pay is based on achieving specified goals and that determines the amount of benefits that the teacher receives. These goals are generally attached to the results of criterion-referenced or standardized tests (Griffiths, 2002). Some programs require that teachers create their own objectives and fulfilling these goals will entitle the teacher to Merit Pay.

It can also be given to the teachers that show effectiveness based on input criteria (teacher performance). Some input criteria include knowledge of subject matter, instructional techniques, student management, and professional growth(Barclay, 2003). In addition to goal achievement based Merit Pay, it can also be based on a teacher having additional responsibilities, perfect attendance, and working at a high priority location. Frequently, merit pay is also called incentive pay.

Before a district decides to go with a merit pay based system, the board of education should create a committee made up of board members, administrators, and classroom teachers to research the topic and design recommendations for possible approval (Sadker, 2007). Teachers are the key to this process because if they ...