Merit-Based Pay

Another point to consider is that merit-based pay does not encourage the betterment of teachers because it creates an atmosphere of competition and stress, which leads to less collaboration. Feelings of anxiety and fear can occur because teachers are held accountable for learning gains, despite their inability to control many outside factors. These feelings can even drive an excellent teacher out of the profession because of the pressure of being evaluated on unreliable data (Berliner 53). When merit-based pay is put into effect schools become like a sports teams. The teachers are the coaches and the students the team players. The trophy is being the best teacher and getting the biggest bonus. Every coach wants the best players on their team,

There is a temptation to cheat and be sneaky in order to raise test scores (Berliner 52). In an effort to boost the quality of teachers, merit-based pay can instead create tensions that press teachers and administrators to act in ways that they otherwise would not. There are many forms of cheating that can occur. Some are more blatant and obvious, like physically changing test answers. Other schools want to restrict who can be admitted, so they keep low preforming students out by having a lottery, or encourage them to go to a different school. States can also participate in cheating by lowering the target goals or changing what test is used. Districts have also been found tossing the scores of the students who dropped out of the school, eliminating many low test scores (Ravitch The 156). When competition and demand is high the urge and rates of cheating increase, showing that merit-based pay reliant on test scores creates more issues then solutions. To have test scores determine pay motivates teachers toward a manipulative and twisted version of success, and not the right version of

It is not all about scaring teachers into submission, but encouraging them with extra support. To have accountability methods be a means of supporting and not firing staff generates more intentional change. It is still very important to hold teacher’s accountable for progress, but “…accountability measure should grow out of a realistic perspective on the important work that teachers do…” (Berliner 53). In addition to academics, teachers help students develop respect, obedience, and many other behaviors. These demeanors can be evaluated through advanced certification and a variety of on-the-job evaluations (Darling ii). When teachers are observed inside the classroom it is much easier to grasp who they are, and how they control the learning environment. If teachers are evaluated on professional standards that incorporate known aspects of successful teaching, it allows for a more overarching assessment (Darling 7). There are more impactful approaches to evaluation and