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Kiana Nakagama
Weger
AP Lang/Comp
April 10, 2010

For years, educators, congressmen, and the general public have contemplated the idea of

merit pay within the education system. Because of the strong disagreement of the program,

teacher compensation in schools has not yet been completely implemented; however it is

becoming a relevant topic in today¶s society. Supporters of this program argue that it will

increase the level of intellect within our country, and thus we should apply it to our school

systems. Those who oppose the program argue just the opposite; that it will decrease the overall

edification of children. The merit pay plan initially intended to improve education; however,

teacher compensation based on student achievement not only lacks equitable factors, but also

encourages dishonesty and ultimately fails to accomplish its goals.

A major complication existing within the merit pay program remains a lack of fairness.

For example, teachers matched with smarter students will get paid more. According to the

general merit pay plan, the teachers with the highest achieving students will get rewarded

through higher salaries, thus leaving the less fortunate teachers with small pay checks. Unlike

other jobs, teachers cannot choose their students, and therefore should not take accountability for

the amount that their students achieve (Riegel).As illustrated through Chan Lowes¶ cartoon,

teachers cannot help getting dim-witted students in their class and their salary and job security

should not depend on those kids. Also, teachers of honors, gifted, and AP level classes will get

paid more than those of standard classes (Pechthalt). Although the teachers of higher intellect

classes do put in a considerable amount of effort, that does not mean that teachers of lower level

classes put in any less. ³Teachers only have so much control over how much and how fast a child

can learn´ (³Top Ten Reasons´). Even highly credited teachers cannot force intellect upon any
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individual, no matter how much effort they put in, and therefore paying them based upon the

ability of the random students assigned to them lacks any equitable factors. If various teachers

work the same amount of hours and put in the same amount of effort, their salaries should not

pertain only to the test taking abilities of their students.

In addition, the merit pay system could notcbe equally distributed though out the school.

Art, PE, and other elective classes do not include academic standardized tests within the

curriculum; therefore teachers of electives cannot get paid as much as those teaching core

classes. To reiterate, although some teachers get paired with lower intellect classes, it does not

mean that they put in any less effort than teachers of core classes. Teachers of special needs or

other disadvantaged students also suffer within the merit pay system (³Top Ten Reasons´).

Because these teachers are already forced to put in a momentous amount of effort, punishing

them with lower salaries will only turn them away from this area of need. Special needs children

require a significant amount of attention and patience, thus those willing to take on that job

deserve at least the same salary as any other customary teacher. Another factor proving merit pay

unjust remains that it encourages teachers and administrators to cheat the system. ³Teachers and

administrators will become obsessed with financial rewards and punishments, and curriculums

will be narrowed on the testable basics´ (Troen and Boels). Within a short time after the

program is implemented, schools will acquire a cognizance that if they teach only to the test then

they will receive more money. Teachers would then find more ways to cheat the system and

obtain higher salaries such as inflating grades and test scores to fit the brackets of pay. On top of

that, ³there is no reasonable, rational, consistent way to measure performance´ (Tomhave). It

proves almost impossible to differentiate teacher effort between simple subjects (such as

history), and more complex subjects (such as math). Math consists of learning material, then
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applying it to various problems. Clearly, a math teacher has to include more actual instruction

within the class than that of a history teacher, whose students are only asked to use their rote

memory to recall information. One would infer that if salaries are differentiated between the

efforts of the teacher then the math teachers would get paid more. However, if the test scores of

the two subjects show equally high (or low) results, then the teacher¶s salaries will match. Also,

because math is a more complex subject, students may have a harder time recalling lengthy

procedures and thus perform lower on a test than that of a history teacher. The merit pay system

would then pay the history teacher more, even if the math teacher puts in more effort. ³There are

too many other variables besides teacher effort that determine an individual and class¶

performance´ (Top Ten Reasons). Clearly, implementing this program would only foster

immorality and injustice.

Also, implementing the merit pay program will drive teachers away from education.

According to research, ³Uses of extrinsic inducements often reduce intrinsic motivation.´ (Kohn)

Teachers would rather have the ³achievement of the job, recognition for their contribution, job

responsibility, and professional growth¶ than a higher salary (Noll 370).Extrinsic incentives

including more money will not have the effect on teachers the merit pay plan assumes. Riegel

also states that ³Salary, supervisory practices, and bonuses cannot substitute for a working

environment high on trust and meaningful work.´ Also, merit pay could drive away teachers who

already want to leave. According to research, ³money, benefits, end job security appear at the

lower end of Maslow¶s hierarchy of needs.´(Noll 370) Therefore, merit pay systems that attempt

to use money alone as a lever for improvement are more likely to cause educators who have

other employment options to leave the school district than to strive for the desired results of their

supervisors. Pechthalt also states that ³teacher unions have historically resisted merit pay
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proposals because they undermine one of the core principles of teaching and learning;

collaboration.´ If teachers are in constant competition with one another, then collaborating will

not exist. Teachers who do not communicate with each other not only risk running into problems

with curriculum, but it also adds to the injustice of the system.

Not only will merit pay drive teachers away, but will also negatively affect the

knowledge of students (Troen and Boles). School will revolve only around the teacher¶s salary

instead of the students¶ education. (Pechthalt) Teaching will then become more mechanical as

teachers will drill and use rote repetition to produce the µbest¶ results(Troen and Boles). Art,

hands- on science and music will then disappear, as only the classes applicable to standardized

tests will count for anything in the teachers¶ and administrators¶ eyes. Also, ³if teachers are

manipulated through extrinsic needs, they will develop anger and frustration that could become

destructive to the organization´ (Noll 371). If the merit pay program causes anger within the

schools, more problems will be aroused negatively affecting not only the teachers and staff but

more importantly, the students. The merit pay system in the ³No Child Left Behind´ act lowers

the standards even more in poverty stricken communities (³Civil Rights Groups´). The standards

in America are already lower than those of the rest of the world; therefore implementing a plan

that lowers them even more only intensifies the low-level intellect of the United States. Merit

pay will also have a negative effect on the students because standardized tests will begin to

consume public education (³Top Ten Reasons´). Standardization and objective measurement

will be the major emphasis through the merit pay plan. If education is based almost entirely off

of test scores, true knowledge of any subject will get lost within the weeks of test preparation.

Also, standardized tests may be unreliable, simply because there are so many factors that tie into

them. For example, some students may obtain a high amount of intellectual skills but are unable
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to perform on test days. This could be due to nerves, sickness, or a bad environment; all of which

teachers cannot be held accountable for. If merit pay is based off of tests that are not even

dependable, then implementing this plan could severely hurt America¶s education, which already

needs a serious amount of help.

Another problem within the system is that merit pay programs will ruin relationships

between teachers and students. The teacher¶ main focus will be to obtain the maximum amount

of money instead of ensuring that the students get a quality education.

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