Here we go again. If we "compensate teachers based on the quality of the job they do", just how do we determine that quality? Unfortunately, testing has been mentioned as a determiner of a teacher's classroom success. I have the luxury of teaching in a National Blue Ribbon School where we consistently make AYP, and a majority of tested students score in the advanced range. Would that make ME worthy of extra compensation simply because my students perform well on several hours of state-mandated testing? My students come from homes where education is valued, and they arrive at school prepared to achieve. Think about teachers in schools where learning is not a priority for many children. They struggle against insurmountable odds just to engage their students. They often provide supplies and other necessities from their own pockets. They play mother/father to children who need it. These teachers provide the unmeasurable human qualities of education. Just because their students fail to score adequately on standardized tests, does that make them less worthy of excellent evaluations and extra financial reward? Teaching is so much more than all of that, and I really don't think that the promise of more money is what will attract or retain good teachers. Our schools have real problems that dollars can never repair.

@Christine -
You say, " I really don't think that the promise of more money is what will attract or retain good teachers". Really? There is no connection between the number and quality of people who go into a field and compensation? Why is any job paid beyond minimum wage? I'm looking from the outside in, so maybe I don't have a clue. It seems to me that this board is filled with complaints about teachers not being respected and not having the training or tools they need to do an impossible task. What would you suggest the first step be to change the level of respect the career is given? Can you come up with something real, that a school system, or even government as a whole, can do? It seems to me that moving teaching from a job to a profession and getting a professional level of support and compensation would be the thing to do, but if that's wrong, what is right?

@Christine -
You say, " I really don't think that the promise of more money is what will attract or retain good teachers". Really? There is no connection between the number and quality of people who go into a field and compensation? Why is any job paid beyond minimum wage? I'm looking from the outside in, so maybe I don't have a clue. It seems to me that this board is filled with complaints about teachers not being respected and not having the training or tools they need to do an impossible task. What would you suggest the first step be to change the level of respect the career is given? Can you come up with something real, that a school system, or even government as a whole, can do? It seems to me that moving teaching from a job to a profession and getting a professional level of support and compensation would be the thing to do, but if that's wrong, what is right?

@ a parent:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts regarding my comments. First, I DO believe that there is a correlation between the number and quality of people who go into a field and the expected compensation. However, my comments were made after reading an article discussing compensation for student performance. Read that as performance pay, bonuses, etc. I'm sure you've read that some would have a teacher's evaluation linked (by as much as 50%) to student results on standardized tests. I suggested that there are far too many variables involved in educating a child to make this a viable or valid option. As for the number of teachers bemoaning the lack of respect for the profession (and, yes, it IS a profession, not a job). I've been in the classroom for many years, and during my tenure I've seen teachers go from respected members of the community to something less. I'm not exactly sure why, but I suspect it has much to do with cultural and social shifts. Do I have a way to fix that? Wish I could say yes. Offering significant increases in teacher pay would most likely attract more people to the profession, but we need to remember that the funding would fall to the taxpayers. Are we willing to reach into our pockets to do that? Even if we did, I'm not convinced that money would fix what I see as even deeper problems with modern education.

If you want to raise performance and attendance in city schools link welfare checks to student performance. I guarantee the parents will be more involved making sure their children show up and make better grades when they lose money. If we use tax dollars to educate the children then let's make sure they get an education instead of growing the welfare rolls.