Submitted by Philip Kelso, Mar 17, 2008 08:43

All teachers have a certain degree of potential and ability. Couple that fact with the other. All students have a certain degree of potential and ability. Therefore, merit pay in education based on the performance of the teachers or students becomes evaluated subjectively. In laymans terms, teachers will be collecting merit pay based on reletively biased terms. Will those responsible for handing out the merit pay be using some sort of rubric as an instrument for evaluation? Even a rubric will not provide objectivity. Can you say POLITICS? The only objective measure that can be made regarding all teachers is their attendance records throughout the school year. If you consider that this simple measure is central to an often overlooked part of education (INSTRUCTIONAL TIME), it becomes clear that regardless of the potential or ability of a teacher, time put into this profession will only work to increase the effectiveness of a teacher's instruction. In a capatilist venture, it is far more simple to set up merit pay based on what is emperical. In education, the only emperical measure is the time that a teacher can/will devote to instructing students throughout the course of any school year. If and when merit pay is based upon time spent teaching, teachers who are more committed to the profession will be compensated justly. The benefits will be two-folded. Not only will teachers benefit, but, the multitude of substitute teachers that students experience almost daily will be reduced significantly.

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