A December 2011 article in the New York Times highlighted teachers in Washington, D.C. who were rewarded with large cash bonuses and significant pay raises, says Todd Pheifer for Yahoo! News. One teacher received an increase from $63,000 per year to $87,000. That represents an almost 35 percent increase. Over time, it has become clear to me that some educational standards have declined in the United States and one theory is linked to the motivation of teachers. Since America believes in capitalism, it has not been uncommon to use financial rewards as a way to motivate workers. Teachers and other workers certainly aren’t going to complain if they get more money, but one has to wonder if this is a long-term solution…
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Study: Teacher bonuses failed to boost test scores
Offering big bonuses to teachers failed to raise students’ test scores in a three-year study released Sept. 21 that calls into question the Obama administration’s push for merit pay to improve education.
The study, conducted in the metropolitan Nashville school system by Vanderbilt University’s National Center on Performance Incentives, was described by the researchers as the nation’s first scientifically rigorous look at the effects of merit pay for teachers.
It found that students whose teachers were offered bonuses of up to $15,000 a year for improved test scores registered the same gains on standardized exams as those whose teachers were given no such incentives.…Read More