Merit Pay For Schools May Make The Grade In New Jersey

Associated Press:

TRENTON, N.J.--The leader of the New Jersey Senate said he won't stand in the way of a bill introducing merit pay into classrooms, so long as it singles out schools, not individual teachers, for achievement.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney told The Associated Press a merit pay bill that rewards schools for exceeding educational expectations could be debated before the Legislature recesses for the winter holidays.

Read the whole story: Associated Press

Comments

[Dr Scott]

11:30 AM on 11/02/2011

I would be happy being a teacher on consignment. The goal would be passing grades on standardized tests. i'd only get paid for students who passed. At the end of the semester, the school district would pay me for 45 hours (or whatever the actual contact time is) of instruction per student who passed the assessment exam. At $10/hour per student (which is my "group rate" - $50/hour is probably more realistic). That would be a modest $450 per student. My wife has about 180 students every semester. If all of them pass the assessment exam, I'd get $81,000 for that semester. If I sucked at my job, and only 25% of my students passed, I'd only get $20,250. The school district wouldn't have to provide health insurance or retirement benefits for me. And I'd be free to teach or not teach whatever semesters I want. They would still be responsible for running the school and providing text books and supplies.