Should pay be tied to tests?

Wendy Leece

EDITOR’S NOTE: This week, we asked our parent panelists if merit pay

for teachers is a good idea. If it is, how can you accurately measure

teacher performance?

Yes, teachers should be accountable for student failure, and merit

pay is sure to shake up the teachers unions.

Teacher pay would be tied to student performance on tests. A

teacher whose students’ scores were raised significantly would be

rewarded. (See https://www .pacificresearch.org).

Here in Newport-Mesa, we expect our children to receive an

excellent education. Each year children should improve their ability

to speak and write the English language, and understand history,

science and math facts. A little art, music and physical education

are important too. While at school, we expect our children to learn

and practice virtues consistent with our community values. We are

thankful for the many outstanding Newport-Mesa school teachers who

work diligently to impart knowledge, and overall, we are satisfied

with our children’s achievements.

But I know many parents who have experienced frustration when

faced with an ineffective teacher or administrator. Should they take

action, parents risk being labeled troublemakers and the possibility

their children could be adversely affected. Sometimes the parents

prevail and a teacher is removed. But the education bureaucracy and

union process are not conducive to dealing with alleged mediocrity or

unprofessional conduct in a timely manner.

Recent implementation of state teaching standards and the federal

No Child Left Behind requirements force teachers to teach

quantifiable content. Merit pay would raise the bar higher.

In the coming months, we can anticipate an intense battle between

the governor and teachers unions. All sides should see the value of

good test results for our children. Locally, discussions of merit pay

and teacher salaries should be held in public, not behind closed

doors. Merit pay won’t work unless taxpayers hold local school

leaders accountable.

In the meantime, the only sure way for parents to deal with

problems is to confront the teacher or the administration and

persevere until there is a satisfactory resolution. If parents were

involved in what is happening in our classrooms, we wouldn’t need an

intervention such as merit pay.

A better idea would be that the parents who pay the teachers’

salaries hold all teachers accountable to teach excellence in each

and every classroom.

* WENDY LEECE is a parent who lives in Costa Mesa and is a former

Newport-Mesa school board member.

I’m in favor of merit pay for teachers because my kids have had

some widely variable experiences with teachers. They’ve had some

great teachers who have spurred them to higher achievement, and

they’ve had some awful teachers who were ineffective. I’m a firm

believer that every worker should have some component of pay based on

performance.

The usual arguments against performance-based pay for teachers are

that there are too many variables beyond the teacher’s control

(students, mandated policies, school facilities, demographics, etc.)

and that performance is too difficult to accurately measure and

quantify.

There are many variables beyond a teacher’s control, but there are

many variables in other pay-for-performance jobs. I’ve worked in

marketing and sales for a long time and have had my compensation

whipsawed by market changes, dumb management, Sept. 11, mergers, or

just by a client or partner having a bad day. It’s all part of the

package. The keys are to develop a compensation structure that

proportions the variable pay component according to the degrees of

control and risk and then work within that structure to do the best

you can within your span of control.

Education is now a data-rich environment. Standardized test

scores, regular tests and quizzes, grades, and attendance figures and

other hard data are readily available. Softer measures such as peer

reviews and annual performance evaluations are also available. You

could also collect parent and student satisfaction ratings. Overall

school performance should also be a key component. Everybody at a

school site needs to feel that they are part of a team.

The first part of the answer is in balancing and blending these

measures.

That’s doable. The second part is in deciding how much

compensation to put at risk. Most teachers I have spoken with would

be willing to put 10% to 20% of their compensation at risk for a plan

that had a commensurate upside.

No plan would be immediately perfect, so the third part of the

answer is in phasing in merit pay and adjusting it. It’s definitely

worth trying.

* MARK GLEASON is a parent who lives in Costa Mesa.