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Reward the best

A Columbus think tank proposes a plan that should advance an essential discussion about merit pay for teachers in Ohio

Published on Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008

Sooner or later, discussions about how to raise achievement in public schools come down to a simple consideration: the importance of top-flight teachers in the classroom. That leads to another simple but powerful notion that exceptional teaching deserves appropriate reward, as recognition as well as an incentive.

Programs that offer bonuses for excellence in teaching are appealing. They have proved contentious, too. Critics point out, justifiably, that in many instances the pay-for-performance programs are poorly designed, leaving teachers open to unfair decisions that create divisiveness within schools.

All the more intriguing, then, is a new proposal put together by policy analysts at the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a conservative think tank based in Columbus. Matthew Carr, the institute's director of educational policy, argues persuasively that the plan offers the best option (and incentive) to raise the capacity of Ohio's school districts to recruit, retain and train accomplished teachers. The proposal, comprising best practices drawn from merit-pay programs in effect in Arkansas and other states, would avoid the pitfalls that have made similar efforts at bonuses and differential pay for selected teachers a source of persistent contention.

Opposition to the merit-pay concept stems largely from lack of confidence that the measures for assessing teachers for extra compensation are transparently fair. The Buckeye Institute's prototype plan aims to deliver a clear formula for compensating exceptional teachers and bonuses that are substantial enough to motivate them. The proponents promise the plan would be an encouragement to individual and collective excellence, producing a climate of collaboration among teachers to raise both individual and school-wide achievement.

The plan would pay teachers bonuses of $4,000, $7,000 and $10,000, based on variables such as the year-by-year improvements in student performance on standardized scores, subjects taught, professional responsibilities and a supervisor's evaluations. It also would differentiate classroom teachers of core courses such as math and English from others (such as principals, teachers in non-core subjects and teachers' aides), giving core teachers the opportunity to earn larger bonuses.

The plan's emphasis on student growth as the primary measure (accounting for 80 percent of the bonus pay, with the rest based on supervisors' evaluations) is a welcome departure from the stultifying focus on seniority and higher qualifications.

A carefully designed and executed merit-pay system that rewards and inspires exceptional teachers — especially if the program encourages them to take on the challenges of teaching in the most difficult buildings and districts — would be a most effective tool in the effort to raise world-class students in Ohio.

Sooner or later, discussions about how to raise achievement in public schools come down to a simple consideration: the importance of top-flight teachers in the classroom. That leads to another simple but powerful notion that exceptional teaching deserves appropriate reward, as recognition as well as an incentive.

Get the full article here.


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