I would love to be paid based on my performance in the classroom. I work my tail off to teach my students and their test scores are among the best in the conference, yet I get paid less than the coacn down the hall. The coach also teaches a core subject, but learning does not occur in that room because teaching does not occur in that room. Guess who has better test scores? I do. Guess who gets paid more? The coach does. Please, please pay me based on how I perform!

Which would be better?  Receiving a higher salary no matter performance or receiving a bonus based on performance?

You have missed my point if you believe I would approve of higher pay no matter the perfomance.

I'm married to a Special Ed teacher in Central California.  Did you know an employee at CostCo makes more money in annual salary and bonuses after four years than a teacher does after four years?  I absolutely agree that pay and job security should be based on job performance.  Hundreds of exceptional teachers were fired this year, due to budget cuts, who did not have tenure, when teachers who are sick of their jobs and not good teachers in any way, shape or form, were retained.  This country is so willing to pay teachers literally nothing, when it's the teachers who spend more time with our children during the school year than their parents.  Teachers not only teach academics, but social skills, the difference between right and wrong, etc.  But they are paid and treated as if they're glorfied babysitters.  Something is very wrong with our thought processes regarding teachers, how they are paid, and how much money is NOT given to support education.  If you want high scores from the schools, the best teachers in the classroom, and this country's children to be ready for the next level of education, then the government needs to put their money where their mouth is.  A highly educated teacher is going to leave their profession when another business is willing to pay them twice the money simply because of their education background.  Wake up America!  As that one educator said "teaching is not a vocation, it is a profession" coudn't have said it better.  Teachers are in the classroom, forming and shaping our childrens future, because they love it and love our children, and like us parents, want nothing but the best for them.  So pay them what they deserve, weed out the teachers that don't, won't ,or can't give our kids the great gift of an education, and treat our teachers with the respect they so rightfuly deserve.

I believe we have to be careful what we wish for. I would also like to be paid more, especially since I work long hours. However, I do not feel my students' test scores should be a factor in if I am a "good" teacher- unless admin is looking only for growth.

Many awesome teachers are in low socio-economic schools, with little or no parental support/involvement. While their students do have growth, they may not meet state standards. Does this mean they don't deserve the same pay raise that a teacher with high parental involvement & high school scores does?! We would never consider paying a doctor less because his patient refuses to follow directions, or take perscriptions. Yet that is what performance based pay could do to some teachers.

 Performance based pay is a controversial issue these days. I'm a graduate student studying school administration (on my way to becoming a principal someday, but a classroom teacher right now), and according to the research I've read, there hasn't been any program put into place that shows positive results between performance pay and student achievement. Because student achievement should always be the goal, this doesn't bode well for any long term performance pay programs. If it would work at all, it seems that performance pay should be based on student growth in one year, and performance pay should not be paid out to specific teachers of a school but possibly to an entire school that shows growth over-all. I'm not an expert on the subject by any means, but again, from the research I've read, making teachers compete against each other doesn't enhance learning and performance in students. Teachers need to be encouraged to work TOGETHER, not against each other.

Many of you may be too young to remember the last time this was tried...I am not.  The issues involved in this practice are many and convoluted.  Do you reward the teacher who has the most success?  That would be the luck of the draw.  if you have many students who do not come to school, or parents who are not supportive, you are up against a wall.  What about the subject area you teach?   The state and district expectations for your achievement? 

Do you reward the teacher who spends more time at school?  What about the fantastic teacher with small children of their own.  If they are not investing extra hours of their own time are they less worthy or effective?  What about the teachers who spend lots of money in their classrooms?  Maybe you can't afford it! 

The last time I saw this attempted  resulted  in  teachers going into their rooms,  shutting the door, and ceasing to share, help, and mentor new teachers.  They couldn't afford to.  It  fortunately fizzled out after a year when it was shown to produce more negative than positive results. 

Evaluations are unfortunately subjective, even though an attempt has been made to objectify them.  You have a relationship with the administrators in your building,   It could be good or bad.  That is going to color your evaluation.

Until a fair, objective method is found I certainly do not feel that there is any benefit.  The teachers I work with work long hours and work hard.  the most positive thing our kids have going is that we work together.  I would hate to see the money spectre interfere with that! 

Yes, be very very careful what you wish for.  Pay-for-performance is not fair to teachers or students.  Teachers are not responsible for the entire child and have no control over such issues as poverty, disabilities, whether or not the student is a good test taker, intelligence, whether or not the student ate breakfast the morning of the test.  Teachers do not deserve to be punished or rewarded for a student's score on a standardized test.  My child will not be used that way, as a pawn.

The bottom line about performance or "merit pay" is that it does noit work as a motivator or to improve student knowledge. Here's a link for those who doubt. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/as-teacher-merit-pay-spreads-one-noted-voice-cries-it-doesnt-work/2012/02/14/gIQAtRpsFR_story.html?socialreader_check=0&denied=1

One of the many problems with merit pay is illustrated by reading: reading is used in virtually all classes, so how do you figure out which teacher contributed what to any particular students improvement? While this idea may work in some contexts such as sales, in teaching is actually makes things worse, as teaching depends heavily on collaboration for the best outcomes. Competition is a giant step in the opposite direction from what is needed for success.