January 21, 2010 in Letters

Merit system requires merit

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I would like to comment on the creation of a merit pay system for teachers as a precondition for acquiring federal Race to the Top funds (editorial, Jan. 15). Political solutions to complex problems, developed in haste, tend to be ineffective at best and usually wind up being counterproductive. There is a need to be careful when going after this one-time funding. I support merit pay for excellent teaching but only if it’s done with the realities of teaching taken into account.

Some of our very best teachers are frightened by merit pay, and for good reason. To accomplish it fairly and accurately, there is a need for nuance.

A properly functioning school assigns the most difficult students to its best teachers. This fact makes using test scores alone highly problematic. Measuring growth over time mitigates this issue but still falls short because small growth in some students is more difficult to accomplish than larger growth in others.

Using national board certification alone, as we do now, to reward excellent teaching is inappropriate. Certification is exceedingly expensive and does nothing to ensure ongoing best practices. Let teachers attain excellence in their own way. Then pay them extra for it.

Andy James

Onion Creek, Wash.

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