Two Virginia Beack high schools are part of a new incentive to boost achievement among students in military communities. The program, known as the Initiative for Military Families, is supported by the Navy and seeks to improve student achievement on AP exams at least in part by paying students who do well. The Initiative also includes a provision to pay teachers of high-achieving students.
Through the grant program provides, students can "earn $100 for each Advanced Placement test on which they score at least a 3 on a 5-point scale." Teachers also earn $100 for each student who scores a 3. I have a few issues with this program that I believe are worthy of discussion.
First of all, in terms of merit pay for teachers, merit pay of this type could never be fair. Not all teachers are teaching AP courses, so does that mean they shouldn't be recognized for the wuality education they are providing to their students? To me, the program implies that teachers who instruct AP course and students are worth more to a school than those who do not. Although I agree with the assertion that we should encourage college-readiness as much as possible, I also think there is equal value in teaching students who won't necessarily attend college.
I also have an issue with rewarding a student's academic performance with cold, hard cash, to be used however the student pleases. It would make more sense to me, if students are going to be paid at all, that the money should automatically be placed in an account to be used only for college tution and other college expenses. Or, maybe the money should be used to simply offset the cost of taking the exams in the first place, thereby encouraging more students to sign up without offering them the opportunity for profit (although it could be argues that students who score well will profit in the long run by earning credits that can be applied to their college degree).
What do you think of merit-based pay for students or for teachers?
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