Merit pay leads teachers to teach to the test rather than to encourage depth of understanding. It punishes teachers who choose to work with our neediest students. Please don't support merit pay. Our kids need to be treated like more than a test score!
Why is this important?
I am an elementary teacher who has seen excellent colleagues leave the profession because they don't feel free to do what's best for kids. I have been rated poorly based on my students' performance on the state test while I was on maternity leave. The next year I was rated much better...because I was actually at my job for the full year. This system is highly flawed. Merit pay incentives will only make the situation worse.
