Merit Pay Stirs Debate
Tony Bennett
By Anne Carpenter
Seventy percent of Indianapolis high school students do not graduate. The national average is 30 percent. In order to bridge the gap, Tony Bennett, the state superintendent of public instruction, is fighting for merit-based pay for teachers.
At its core is a notion that everyone seems to agree on: better pay for better teachers. However, it is the finer details that seem to call in to question the future of merit pay in Indiana.
What is TAP?
A federally run and nationally recognized program, TAP is designed to motivate teachers who perform well in the classroom. The system will test students annually in order to determine growth and achievement. Based on these scores, teachers will have the opportunity to receive bonuses.
Bennett said that current standards for teacher pay are fundamentally wrong and that education reformation should begin with rewarding teachers who have successful students.
“I have this fundamental belief that we have a sad system when the financial highlight of a teacher’s career is realized the last day they work,” Bennett said. “We should truly recognize when a teacher hits his or her marks.”
Turmoil Amongst Teachers
English teacher for 12 years and adjunct professor at Butler University, Jannine Campbell said that our education system is broken and reform is necessary. She is just not convinced testing and merit pay will solve the problem.
“We’re testing our kids to death to see if they can reach some magical number on a test,” Campbell said. “It’ll just be, ‘Can you do well on this test?’ and that in my opinion does not equate to learning.”
Currently, teachers can count on receiving higher paychecks if they have more years in the classroom and a higher education degree. Because of tenure and detailed evaluations, it is difficult to remove ineffective teachers from the classroom. In order for a true educational reformation to occur, there must be a system in place to remove an ineffective teacher, Bennett said.
Linda Rollings, English department chair at Pike High School, said that merit-based pay might force teachers to evaluate their own teaching styles and influence on students.
However, she also feels that they may be doing so for the wrong reasons.
“With merit-pay, I think they’ll [the students] get better instruction,” Rollings said. “But, I think it’s because the teachers have to look at how they’re doing things and not how the student is learning it.”
What Does the Future Hold?
The U.S. Department of Education made $437 million in funds available to support initiatives that reward teachers, principals and other school personnel who improve student achievement. Indiana will receive $37 million.
Bennett is hopeful this grant will help put Indiana back on track to bridge the achievement gap of its students.
“We believe that all schools should aspire to be the highest quality,” Bennett said.
Assistant Principal of Pike High School, Roy Dobbs said he understands the idea of rewarding those teachers who do a good job and go beyond, but at the same time, it is harder to gauge the merit.
Dobbs said, “I don’t think you can take a bad teacher, give them another $5,000 and they automatically become a better teacher.”
