Merit Pay for Teachers

This columnist makes a good point: merit pay can be disastrous in the wrong school. I think that mine fits that bill. http://bit.ly/16pECq

I see my staff becoming insanely jealous of any teacher that would earn the bonus. I can see some cheating happening, and worse, I think referrals would increase. Not only would we see an increase in teachers focusing their instruction solely on standardized tests, but more teachers would try (in vain) to have kids identified so they wouldn't be in their classes anymore. I'm not sure how that would work towards their yearly progress numbers. Furthermore, how would I become eligible for some merit pay? I'm pretty good at what I do, don't I deserve a bonus. Yeah, I don't see this working too well.

BBC