Would you work harder–and teach better–for an extra $15,000? That’s the question researchers at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University set out to answer three years ago whe they offered higher paychecks to public school teachers who raised their students test scores.
It’s not idle speculation. President Obama’s Race to Top grants encourage states to tie teacher pay to student performance, on the assumption that, if their livelihood depends on it, teachers will make sure their students improve. But is it true?
This program reveals for the first time the surprising results of Vanderbilt’s extensive three year study.
Download transcript (pdf)
This is Part 4 in our ongoing coverage of the national Race to the Top competition. Watch all the reports online.
(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
September 27, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Anne says:
I think that if people want students to learn and perform better, instead of studies and researches, they should ask teacher what students need to succeed. Pay based on tests scores do not reflect how good a teacher is in the classroom. It proves how well a student can take a test. To improve standards in classrooms, you need smaller class sizes, teaching aids and great hands on material that is already prepared set to go. These will all go much farther than having teachers “perform” for pay.