"There's little research on what makes for a successful merit-pay system, but several factors seem critical, says Matthew Springer, director of the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University. Denver's program includes many of them: a careful effort to earn teacher buy-in to the plan, clarity about how it works, multiple ways of measuring merit, rewards for teamwork and school-wide success, and reliable financing."
Unfortunately, many of the merit-pay systems being proposed do not include those factors. There development is not based on "a careful effort to earn teacher buy-in to the plan." There is little clarity about how the programs are actually going to work. And there certainly does not appear to be reliable financing for public education. All of these issues are problematic given the current research available. Even some of the merit-pay systems cited in this article as being successful have have received mix reviews at best in the current research studies available.
