Submitted by Lee, Jun 3, 2007 14:31

While I agree that many children from low socioeconomic backgrounds are not doing well in school and that politicians and school administrators should find a way to change the outcomes for these children, I am concerned about opinions that advocate merit pay for teachers. How will teachers be identified for merit pay increases? If the identification will be based on higher test scores than it might be a case of comparing apples to oranges. A teacher can achieve higher test scores in one year versus another based on the fact that he or she will have different students form one year to the next and these students will differ in their academic abilities Perhaps, teachers should be paid substantially more (around $10,000) to work in high needs schools. This should entice experienced teachers to transfer to these schools

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