Pros And Cons Of Merit Pay

Obviously, merit pay plans are growing rapidly across the country and are used in different ways to compensate teachers. Not to mention, some of the plans have been successful and some have failed. Nevertheless, policy makers will continue to develop policies that will improve the educational system for K-12 with the interest of merit pay at the top of the agenda. Since teachers are one of the main targets for student success, policy makers should strive to understand the different levels of teaching styles, student’s learning skills, and classroom environments in order to develop a merit pay system that is workable and equity. Although teachers’ merit pay plans are great, it is clear that money is not the only fact that can contribute to student achievement. …show more content…
Moreover, merit pay and pay for performance are often used interchangeable; studies have revealed that both processes have pros and cons in regards to student achievement. For the most part, policy makers would like to think that money increases student achievement; however, teachers believe that student achievement goes beyond the classroom (Podgursky, 2011). The love of teaching is a strong factor in the classroom; however, the layout of merit pay plans and pay for performance plans by policy makers across the school system could bring about a concept that could result in teachers becoming more concerned about making money than student achievement (Ritter and Jensen,