Dispatch right about teacher merit pay

Good editorial in the Dispatch on teacher merit pay:

Despite seeing mixed results, Columbus City Schools shouldn’t give up on merit-pay bonuses for teachers.

The question of whether merit pay can lead all teachers and students to better results is too complex to be answered by a few years’ worth of data at only a few grade levels.

Moreover, even without statistical proof that merit pay lifts entire schools, it undoubtedly is true that teachers whose students improve more than others are bringing the most value to the enterprise of teaching, and so giving them extra reward is both fair and smart.

It’s fair, because teaching should be no different from other professions, in which measurably better results yield greater compensation. And smart, because recognition can attract and keep talented people in the classroom.

Columbus school officials and teachers deserve credit for being willing to try merit pay in a variety of pilot programs. Most teachers unions doggedly oppose merit pay, saying it will lead to “unhealthy competition” and that principals can’t be trusted to award it fairly.

As Sally Oldham, the Columbus Education Association’s vice president, can attest, sister unions have criticized Columbus teachers for being willing to bend on the traditional insistence that teacher pay be determined by their years of experience and level of education

There is near universal complaints about teacher pay and yet very little discussion of why salary should not be connected to results. The public for the most part just fails to see that unions protect the bottom at the expense of the top. They make it unattractive to be a teacher by making those interested in the subject but not in multicultural and psychological mumbo jumbo jump through a bunch of licensure hoops and sit through attrocious curriculum in college.

The system is set up to reward mediocrity when combined with longevity. It discourages passion and creativity.  This is not a recipe for high pay and excellence.

Anything that can be done to reduce the power of the unions and move toward merit and skill rather than mere tenure and credentials is to be applauded.