Action Inquiry

The pay for teacher in Ohio will have a partial consideration based on how their students scored on their tests. The pay consideration was the result of legislation signed by Republican Gov. John Kasich. Modifications can still be made prior to this law going into effect. The current protocol for teachers pay requires that Ohio public school districts give each teacher an evaluation and grade prior to beginning the 2013-14 school year. Fifty percent of the grade the teacher receives will base on students test scores.
There are mixed emotions in regards to merit pay in the Chesapeake School district especially those that are new to the district or just graduated from college. The district’s goal for implementation of merit pay is that it gives others the opportunity to learn from their colleagues. The other downfall of merit pay is that teachers will be penalized if they fail to meet the goals of merit pay and this could be cumbersome for those just embarking on a new teaching career. The positive aspect of merit pay is that it rewards teachers for their performance and it provides job security for keeping their student scores high in their classrooms.
Motivation is also a key aspect to merit pay, because several teachers in the district feel this is a better evaluation on their performance versus the traditional evaluations they have had in the past. Recruitment has also plagued the district and merit pay can be an alluring factor to qualified teachers looking to move into the district. Retention of qualified teachers has also presented issues with the district so the incentive of a bonus entices many teachers to remain in their positions.

The profession of teaching has had the black cloud over its head due to the low salary that many of our teachers face in the public school systems; merit pay can entice many college students to choose the teaching profession. Why is merit pay such a controversial issues for teachers and teachers unions? When the President got involved in the issue of teacher’s merit pay, it created even more hype about merit pay. Those that oppose merit pay feel that there is very little evidence that merit pay will improve a teacher’s classroom performance. (Steiny, J 2009). There is a federal fund that is set up to attract qualified teachers.
It is a six hundred million dollar fund that is set up to attract good teachers to good schools. What questions should be asked prior to implementing? How can school administration implement merit pay to provide a positive impact to the Chesapeake School district? What will be the criteria to earning the incentive of merit pay? How will the school evaluate the effectiveness of merit pay? The school district feels that merit pay will make teachers accountable for their progress with students by having merit pay as a source of evaluation that could either adversely affect their pay.
Merit pay in regards to evaluation can weed out bad teachers that plagued our school district. The positive impact it could have on the district is that merit pay will attract high performing teachers to seek positions in a school district that has areas that could use qualified teachers to bring their test scores up in the district. What research can be utilized to measure the effect merit pay has on the school district? There will be several methods used for evaluation of merit pay. Surveys for teachers, students and parents, principal reports and observations will provide a qualitative date resource for the district.
The design of the research is for experimental purposes and once the research is reviewed, a decision will be made as to implementing the merit pay system into the district. There will be further research conducted after the school begins the merit pay system to check for satisfaction and teacher performance. It also should reflect the economic impact it had on the school district’s budget. The “after” effects of merit pay could benefit from have committees formed by the school board and school administration. The Chesapeake School District utilizes emails and texts to inform parents of important meeting and dates that involve the school.
These emails and texts also involve the teaching staff. A meeting could be held that involved forming groups or committees to study the impact the merit pay system is having on the school district. This would provide a checks and balance system. The committees would consist of teachers and parents. The committee will conduct their own research via surveys from parents, students and teachers within the district. The other committee would consist of principals and other school administration. The goal of the groups is to conduct their own research and to meet to discuss any issues that face the newly implanted system.
Each committee can bring valuable research to the table in order to make effective changes that could make the system that would be fair to all that is involved and bring a sense of security to the district. I had heard various opinions on merit pay from many of the teachers at Chesapeake and for the most part many are comfortable with the system. I believe that it could provide a positive impact to the school and provide better retention rates for the school. It also is an effective method of revealing what teachers are ineffective in the classroom, that could either learn from other teacher or relieving those teachers from their duties.
Chesapeake district for the most part employ qualified teachers but at times have found themselves in difficult situations in recruiting teachers for subject areas, particularly in special education, math and science. I feel that the merit system will attract highly qualified teachers to fill these positions and retain them. Rural area schools are many times plagued with poor test scores due to the lack of qualified teachers in the school system and having a merit system in place could employ a staff of teachers that could educate these students and for the district to see a rise in their standardized test scores