Merit Pay: Thoroughly Tested, Thoroughly Failed
To some people, like the Star-Ledger's Tom Moran, facts are stupid things:
A few thoughts on the comments: No one can be sure that this will work, becausemerit pay has only been tried in a few places, and in different ways. It is pioneering stuff, so by its nature, there is not a long track record. But it sure makes intuitive sense, and is in place in almost every other profession, including journalism. So why not try it with teaching? [emphasis mine]In fact, merit pay has a very long track record, dating back to 1862:
So try this. The drive to link teacher pay to high stakes tests as advocated by Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush and their ilk and castigated in so many of Diane’s blogs resembles nothing so closely as the system introduced in England in 1862 – yes, 1862 – for making the level of grants to elementary schools conditional on children’s performance in literacy and numeracy tests.
What was this eerily familiar system called? Payment by Results, or ‘prizes for success in teaching the rudiments’. What were its consequences? The great Matthew Arnold – poet,