Academic Discussion (Teacher Salaries)
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Instructions: Your professor is teaching a class on public policy. Write a post responding to the professor's question. Express and support your opinion, and make a contribution to the discussion in your own words. An effective response will contain at least 100 words.
There is an ongoing debate about how to determine salaries for school teachers. Some argue that teachers should be paid based on the performance of their students (for example, using standardized test scores). Others believe that salaries should be based on seniority or advanced degrees, regardless of student performance.
What is your opinion? Should teacher salaries be based on their students' academic performance? Why or why not?
I think performance-based pay is a great idea. In the business world, people are rewarded for good results. If teachers know their salary depends on students learning, they will work harder to ensure every student understands the material. It incentivizes better teaching.
I completely disagree. There are too many factors outside a teacher's control, like a student's home life or economic background. If we link pay to test scores, teachers will just "teach to the test" and ignore creative subjects or students who need different kinds of help.