Walt Gardner of the Guardian in the UK recently provided a brief history of merit pay programs for teachers. Here is a portion of that article:
"Pay-for-performance began in England in about 1710, when salaries were based on test scores in reading, writing and arithmetic....
The trouble was that the strategy sucked the creative life out of classrooms, as teachers became obsessed with the code. When it became apparent that the approach demeaned education, it was dropped in the 1890s. Pay-for-performance re-emerged briefly in Canada in 1876, but it ran into similar difficulties and was terminated in 1883....
It's highly unlikely, however, that the evidence amassed over the years will finally put an end to teacher incentive plans. Educational outsiders have the luxury of not having to live with the consequences of their delusions."
Read the Full Article:
No Merit in Merit Pay for Teachers
"Pay-for-performance began in England in about 1710, when salaries were based on test scores in reading, writing and arithmetic....
The trouble was that the strategy sucked the creative life out of classrooms, as teachers became obsessed with the code. When it became apparent that the approach demeaned education, it was dropped in the 1890s. Pay-for-performance re-emerged briefly in Canada in 1876, but it ran into similar difficulties and was terminated in 1883....
It's highly unlikely, however, that the evidence amassed over the years will finally put an end to teacher incentive plans. Educational outsiders have the luxury of not having to live with the consequences of their delusions."
Read the Full Article:
No Merit in Merit Pay for Teachers
