Teacher Merit and Merit Pay

Teacher merit, just what do many so called school reformers mean by it but, more importantly, what is the true essence of teacher merit within the 'real' world of teaching and learning?  One may think the definition is one and the same but they aren't.

Many of those in the 'reform' movement see teacher merit as being almost totally tied to standardized test scores.  There might also be a measure of teacher evaluations mixed in but, for the most part, reformers see teacher merit as being directly linked to testing.

This is a sad, sad scenario for a number of reason.  First, a primary motive of tying test scores to teacher merit is because those who believe in this believe that it is a efficient system.  What better way to determine teacher effectiveness, that is merit, than to use student scores on a standardized exam (that is one not based on content in the actual course).    Of course this completely misses the whole point about the worth of a teacher and the various compenent parts of what leads to student learning.

Finally, and just as sadly, those who strongly advocate for teacher merit being tied to standardized test scores often go a step further and declare that a teachers pay should be tied to the test scores.  Again, this largely misses the boat on what is effective teaching and how one should be compensated.

I'll have more to say on this tomorrow.

Dick'