Abstract:

Bill Ferriter examines a new model of performance pay and eplores how performance pay might hurt collaboration.

Ferriter, B. (2005). Paying teachers differently. Teacher Leaders Network diaries. Retrieved from the Teacher Leaders Network 8 Apr 2008. Link: http://www.teacherleaders.org/old_site/diaries04_05/other/BF20.html

Full Text:

Paying Teachers Differently

One of the great debates that remain in public education revolves around teacher compensation. Ask anyone about teacher pay, and they'll have a passionate opinion ranging from "teachers are woefully underpaid," to "teachers aren't earning their keep!"

Florida jumped head-first into the debate recently, passing a controversial new teacher compensation program called E-Comp. Under E-Comp, all Florida school districts must "identify the top 10 percent of each variety of teacher and award them a 5 percent salary supplement." Student growth scores on Florida's end of grade tests will determine the top educators in tested subjects, and new standardized measures will be developed for subjects not yet tested. Designed to introduce "competitive pressures" to education, the plan is seen as a "landmark in the efforts to restructure American schools."

So how do I feel about Florida's plan?

I think we've been lulled again into believing that standardized testing is the quick-fix solution for all of education's ills.

Like anything that seems "too good to be true," assessing teacher performance solely through standardized testing results is an oversimplified approach to an incredibly complex task. A reliance on testing overlooks other forms of "achievement" that parents and communities expect from their children. How do we measure intangibles like increased motivation or creativity that teachers impart to students each day? What about artistic growth? Character development? Do these traits get pushed even further aside when standardized testing becomes an important part of teacher compensation decisions?

What's more, I worry about the damage that will be done to the culture and climate of schools where teachers are competing with one another for bonuses. Some of the most significant growth opportunities that I have had in my 12-year career have come from the collaborative work that I do with the teachers on my hallway. We regularly introduce one another to new instructional practices and work in tandem to improve on what it is that we do with students. We share data, look at new strategies, and push one another daily. In fact, my peers introduced two of my most effective instructional strategies — Socratic seminars and digital current event instruction — to me in the past two years.

I question whether any of these positive behaviors would continue under Florida's plan. Instead, teachers would tend to keep successes with students to themselves in order to protect their place in "the top ten." Amplifying instructional accomplishments across entire grade levels or schools — something that happens regularly in my building — wouldn't make sense in a competitive workforce. While high-flyers would be rewarded, their impact on colleagues would be diminished significantly. Schools will become more isolated and teachers would see one another as adversaries rather than peers.

Finally, standardized test results simply are not "fool-proof." Ask anyone who has been wrapped up in the recent struggles over scoring errors on The College Board's SAT exams! No fewer than 5,000 student scores were incorrectly reported in the last administration of the exam with errors ranging from 10-450 points. If an exam that is often described as the "Cadillac of standardized testing," can be flawed, then we must be cautious when using test scores as the only source of data to make any high-stakes decision.

Don't get me wrong: I believe the time has come for revising the way we compensate teachers. The single salary schedule, where raises are predetermined and based solely on years of experience and college courses taken, isn't serving anyone — taxpayers, teachers or students — anymore.

And I believe that teachers must be willing to accept accountability for student achievement. For too long, we have resisted the idea that we bear responsibility for the academic success of our students. We are quick to point out that children come to us from different backgrounds and with different sets of skills, claiming that these variables trump any kind of impact that we may be able to have as teachers. "It's my job to present information," some teachers say. "It's not my job to guarantee that students learn."

Such arguments against using student achievement as a component of teacher evaluation and compensation cheapen our profession. They are admissions that we aren't sure of our abilities to shape students in positive ways, regardless of personal circumstances. And they overlook what research now confirms is one of the single greatest variables influencing student success — the quality of a child's classroom teacher.

I just want to see new plans for paying teachers developed that reward collaboration and promote positive practices in schools. By doing so, we're more likely to benefit all students — rather than just those served by the "top" ten percent of our profession.

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