I'm torn on this one.
On the one hand, I'd like to see very good teachers rewarded, on the other hand, I understand that there will be problems with any reward system, but still, I think we could try it.
The cheating problem is easy to solve. Teachers should not test their own students, or they should be monitored if they do test their own students. And there are pretty easy ways to catch most cheating by looking at the test scores.
As far as compensating teachers based on test scores, I don't think that should be the only metric, but I don't see why we should not take it in to account as one factor. I happen to think sources like ratemyteacher.com should also be used- since teaching should be a customer friendly profession, and one way to measure customer satisfaction is by using ratemyteacher. I urge my students (and insist my own children) use ratemyprofessor.com when choosing college classes, because it is one very good way to assess the quality of your instructor. One or two reviews can be grudges, but we have found that professors and teachers with more than a couple reviews are pretty much what they are described to be.
If districts were careful in assessing excellence, I would be 100% for merit pay. But it's always the idiots in the ointment that make you wonder if something would work. I'd be willing to try it, though- despite my reservations. |
