The Debate Over Merit Pay for Teachers (1/2)

Last year, we reported on a program in Florida to give merit pay to teachers if student scores increase on a statewide test. But a newspaper in Florida now reports that school systems across the state are rejecting the program for a second year.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune says only about one-third of the school districts in Florida may answer a call for proposals by October first. Why? Teachers say the program forces them to compete against each other. They say it is unfair to link their pay to results on statewide tests. Also, a high school teacher told the paper that a limitedbudget means that some top teachers may not be recognized.

Critics say performance-based pay should recognize all that happens in a classroom, not just student performance on tests. All that will do, they say, is get teachers to teach to the test. This is already a concern now that yearly testing is federally required for millions of students.

Attempts at merit pay for American teachers have failed in many cases because of resistance from teachers unions or budget cuts.

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去年,我们报道了弗罗里达州一个计划:如果在全州的统考中,学生的分数提高,
就给老师创优工资奖励。但新近来自弗罗里达州一家报纸报道说全州的教育系统在第二年却反对这项计划。

《萨拉索塔先驱论坛报》说到10月1日，弗罗里达州只有三分之一的学区通过电话回应了关于对这个计划的意见。这是为什么呢?老师们说这个计划会逼的他们互相竞争。他们说把教师的工资收入和学生的州统考成绩挂钩是不公平的。一个高中老师告诉报社，有限的教育预算意味着一些优秀的教师可能得不到承认(而获得应有的奖励)。

评论家表示老师的绩效工资应以教师在课堂内的所有表现为认可基础，而不仅仅是以学生的考分。他们说，这样的计划其结果只会是让老师们都采用应试教学。现在联邦要求对上百万的学生进行年度考试，应试教学已经成为人人担忧的问题了。

因为受到来自教师工会或教育预算削减的阻力，在尝试多次后，为美国教师设立创优工资的做法失败了。