In the article titled Study Casts Cold Water On Bonus Pay in the Sept. 29, issue of Ed Week nearly 300 teachers and their students took part in a study testing the value of merit-pay. The article indicated that bonus pay had little impact on student performance good or bad. In the third paragraph of the article it states only small positive findings in 5th graders in the second and third year of the three year test trial were found. The study used 5th through 8th graders. Not exactly inspiring. I had always wondered how it could work, but if someone came up with this as a solution I figured they would have some great premise. Not so much it seems. I guess the proponents of merit based pay thought the teachers would suddenly work hard for the money, so hard for it honey. As if they would say, "Oh, alright, I guess I will start providing these kids with a decent education now, since you are finally kicking down". What merit based pay did not seem to affect was how many teachers bailed. The test group covered 298 math teachers. Within three years "attrition" whittled it down to 148. One-hundred and forty-eight! Attrition! Are we going to war? And if we are a fifty per-cent casualty rate is foreboding.
Maybe we are giving the bonus to the wrong people. Maybe we should try giving it to the kids and their families. Then you would see some homework getting done! Parent involvement would reach an all time high. That X-box would stay on the shelf if a hundred dollars rode on how well Jimmy did on the next test. Just a thought.
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