Pay for how one performs

Denise Oppenhagen
Published: July 27, 2008

I have been listening to National Public Radio in the mornings when I wake up. One subject that has been getting a lot of attention lately, both on NPR and in Washington, DC, is school reform. A key
feature of school reform that comes up regularly is pay for performance for teachers. In most proposals, teachers get “graded” on the basis of students’ scores on a standardized test. This seems like a
good idea. Who could argue against paying teachers who get the best out of their students more than teachers who simply show up? 

Pay for performance policies, however, have some glaring problems.  While rewarding teachers whose students achieve, it does nothing with the teachers whose students do not. It is assumed that those
teachers will either change their ways or leave the system. In reality, neither will happen. Why leave a position where you get paid in spite of how well you do your job.  We would only end up with poor
teachers with big grudges. Or we end up with teachers who teach to the test. These teachers may have terrific test scores but the students haven’t learned anything. 

But there is another problem, one that is frequently dismissed by policy makers. That problem is that there are some children who just won’t learn or cannot learn.  Yes, it’s true. In spite of the opportunity
of a free education that will provide the most opportunities for their adult lives, there are students who don’t want to learn. For these students, education is not a priority. Attendance is sporadic; they
frequently spend more time in the principal’s office for behavior problems than in the classroom. When parents are contacted, they are apathetic to the problem or blame the teacher. There is no
assistance at home with homework. 

There are also students who have difficulty learning some material. There are many reasons for this — personal and situational.  Some students have learning needs that are sometimes not addressed. 
Large class sizes do a disservice to these children because they need some additional help or time that cannot be given by one teacher when the student is competing against 30 other students for that
teacher’s attention. Whatever the specific reason, the bottom line is that even the best teacher in the world is not going to be able to help these students reach their highest potential. To label a teacher
as underperforming when students don’t achieve is a huge disservice to the teacher and the student. 

Another issue deals with priorities. Our students are supposed to spend a mandated minimum amount of time in math, Language Arts, science, and social studies classes. But some schools, citing the
need for additional reading and math support, give science and social studies short shrift.  These teachers valiantly struggle to complete their curriculum. Are they to be penalized if their students don’t
succeed on a test?

So, how can we reform the education system so the best educators are rewarded, average teachers are not disadvantaged and below average teachers change? One idea is to look at student
improvement. Instead of focusing entirely on one test to judge a teacher, look at a comprehensive series of tests. Give students a pretest and then their unit test. If students have improved, then the
teacher is successful and should be rewarded. Improvement should be our focus; not a single test score. Another idea is to increase teacher pay. Salary is, in our society, equated with prestige.  A higher
salary for teachers in general will make teaching a more prestigious career and bring more people into the profession. 

The issue of pay for performance comes up frequently and should be addressed — not as an election issue but seriously and deliberately. Only then can we be assured that the policy decided upon is
what is best for those who matter — our children.

Denise Oppenhagen is a longtime resident of Prince William County and can be reached at .