Performance Pay for Teachers

I used to be a huge fan. I don't like the current system, that's not a secret, but I think the changes needed are tremendous. Let me attempt to outline my points.

1. Tenure should only outline due process. There are to many obstacles for getting rid of poor teachers. Michelle Rhee in DC discovered that and has made the issue much more......public. Simply put, its too easy to get rid of non-tenured teachers, and too difficult to get rid of tenured ones.

2. Teachers enter the profession despite the pay. Teachers in the suburbs are payed well for the most part, teachers in urban, under-funded schools are severely underpaid. But, again, no one really uses this as a reason to enter teaching. People enter finance and business for reasons that could be considered much more financially motivated. Thus, incentives shouldn't be a large part of the teacher salary equation.

3. That being said, hard work and excellence should be rewarded in some way. The only incentive right now is to become more educated with degrees that don't necessarily pertain to what actually goes on in the classroom. Yes, I'm talking about the influx of people getting their Type 75 certification.

4. I think a teacher's salary should remain the same for the first two years. The only hoops they should need to get through would be getting used to their job and becoming better in the classroom. If the school decides to re-new their contract, they receive a large salary increase and begin work on a three year plan become tenured. In this they will have work towards goals outlined by their particular department. (This is much similar to a college tenure process). A community of teachers serve as their 'committee' and take them through the process. Their pay remains the same for three years with a very large boost after tenure.

5. At this point, benchmarks are delegated at specific points. Yes, that means you can't just get paid more every year. Pay increases coincide with these benchmarks.

Obviously this is a dream scenario, there's plenty wrong with it. The current system makes sense and works fine. I'm just trying to shred some ideas. My opinion on this has changed over the course of the summer.