Study: Paying Teachers for Student Performance Doesn't Raise Test Scores

Study: Paying Teachers for Student Performance Doesn't Raise Test Scores

Vanderbilt just completed a study in which they offered incentives for TN math teachers....if their students scored "significantly higher" than expected on a statewide testing. In a nutshell authors of the study said "merit" or "performance" incentives did not raise test results.

From what I've read of the study it simply was "teachers raise the scores and you get more money." If higher scores were found that would mean that teachers were holding back, right. I don't think teachers are holding back. Why would they do that? Perhaps they are waiting for a better paying study.

At the same time teachers in the study said they did not change the way they were teaching just because they were in the study. So if the teaching doesn't change....then why would we expect the learning or test scores to change?

As I've said before, improvement is not about working hard. It is about finding the right thing(s) to work on and then working hard.