Chris Cerf on merit pay

Cerf on merit pay:

If what matters most to millions of urban children's future is the  quality of the educators who teach them, we must have the courage to have a  politically uncomfortable discussion about whether we are doing everything in  our power to attract and retain the best. Interestingly, I find it is the  great teachers who work in urban schools who are the ones most vocal on this  very point.

That's why I was gratified to see that the center of  gravity appears to be shifting on merit pay. When Barack  Obama and George  Miller are talking about financial incentives, something has changed. And  if Senator Obama is "whispering  truth to power, Mayor Bloomberg is yelling it from the roof tops. Money, as the Beatles remind us, may not buy love. But, it does matter. I taught high school for four years, and it mattered to me.  And the overwhelming majority of teachers I speak to agree. As the Mayor observed, it is "ridiculous" to suspend our most basic assumptions about human motivation in this critical realm while accepting it as a matter of course in every other.

No, I do not believe our best teachers are holding back  their efforts. And yes, I agree that most teachers enter the profession for  reasons more noble than financial rewards. And I even agree that the mechanics  of rewarding educators for performance are fraught with complex questions and  even some dangers of abuse. (A good case can be made school-wide bonuses, for  example.) But can anyone doubt that it is demoralizing and demotivating when radically different levels of performance are met with complete indifference?  The litmus test, however, is this: If holding on to our most effective  teachers is the most important consideration in moving our  highest-need students towards a successful launch into adulthood, would  performance pay at least contribute to that end? The answer to that question has to be a resounding "yes." Merit pay, in itself, won't solve our retention challenges. But it's a very good start.

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Friday, August 10, 2007
Why Merit Pay Matters
Opinions here are my <http://www.broadacademy.org/fellows/fellow.php?alumni_id=21&amp;category_id=4> own and not those of the NYC Department of Education, where I serve as Deputy Chancellor.

It will surprise no one who either has children or once was one that the most important variable in improving student outcomes is the quality of the teacher. The difference a great teacher makes is especially significant for those from economically disadvantaged homes. Indeed, studies <http://www3.brookings.edu/views/papers/200604hamilton_1.pdf>  suggest that the achievement gap could be closed in a matter of years if such students were fortunate enough to be taught by "top quartile" teachers (as measured by their track record of success).