Op-Ed: Better Pay Formulas Are Not the Answer to Teacher Compensation
Local autonomy, rather than inflexible formulas, is the key to gauging teacher performance
By Arnold Kling, NJSpotlight.com New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would like to improve the way that teachers are compensated. He wants to get away from the rigid, credentials-based and tenure-protected system that exists today. Instead, he proposes to convene a task force that will "be charged with recommending a system that elevates the role of student learning in evaluations and fairly and transparently assesses teacher and principal performance." The current approach to compensation in primary education certainly is flawed. Quality teaching does not come from credentials. Instead, good teachers make themselves, through relentless effort at self-improvement. Seniority is not a meaningful indicator: some teachers use their years of …
