Jersey Jazzman: That's One Cruel Fairy

Jersey Jazzman: That's One Cruel Fairy:

That's One Cruel Fairy

by Duke

The Merit Pay Fairy is showing some teeth:

There's been little evidence that teachers’ performance bonuses have any meaningful effect on student achievement. But a new study out of Chicago took a brand-new tack, dividing 150 teachers into two groups. The first group received a $4,000 advance, with the understanding that if students didn’t do better than average on standardized tests, they would have to pay it back. If achievement did go up, teachers stood to earn as much as another $4,000. The second group of teachers was told that they could earn up to $8,000 in merit bonuses at the end of the academic year with sliding scale payouts based on student test scores.
Interestingly, the teachers whose students showed the strongest performance gains were those who had the threat of repaying a $4,000 advance looming over them. 

In writing about the study for The Atlantic’s online business section, associate editor Jordan