Showing posts with label merit pay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label merit pay. Show all posts

Monday, April 4, 2011

Would We Get Better Results if the Wall Street Journal Gave Merit Pay for Better Reporting?

"Of course, not everything you try works." 
- Joel Klein on wasting $57 million on failed merit pay schemes.

Hey, Joel, how about "nothing you tried worked?" Except turning the UFT into a wus, which in the ed deform world is all that really matters anyway.


From the Joel Klein School of Management
I was howling with laughter after reading this article on teacher merit pay in the WSJ today blaming poor results on the NYC merit pay boondoggle on the fact that entire schools got pay instead of individual teachers.
In 2007, New York City and its teachers union launched an experiment to determine whether rewarding teachers with extra cash would boost student performance.
Four years and $57 million later, the answer appears to be no. Backers of incentive pay are blaming the way New York's program was structured, and school and union officials are pointing fingers at each other.
Researchers posited that because the bonuses were based on how well entire schools performed, and how well they performed compared to similar schools citywide, the money didn't offer much incentive to individual teachers to excel.
"It was clear in 2007 that this plan wouldn't enable the best teachers to earn dramatically more, and therefore would likely be limited in long-term effect," said Bryan Hassell, co-director of Public Impact, a research and consulting organization that is often at odds with the teachers union. He wasn't involved in the studies.
"This plan paid chump change compared to what the best teachers should be earning for reaching more kids successfully," Mr. Hassell said.

Boy, if only they has offered individual teachers lots more money instead of chump change. The scores would have soared. Just like they did in Washington DC under Michelle Rhee.

The funniest lines in the entire piece belong to "no excuses" Joel Klein who always makes excuses:
"I believe and have always believed in merit pay at the individual teacher level," said Joel Klein, who was then schools chancellor. "The union would agree only to a schoolwide program. It made sense to try. Of course, not everything you try works," he said. Mr. Klein is now an executive at News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal
Poor Repert. He hires a guy who made a $57 million losing bet. A guy who believed individual merit pay would work but because the union wouldn't sign onto that tossed enormous amount of money into the trash because "It made sense to try."

No follow-up on this issue from reporter. Like, do you think it was wise to spend so much money that could have been used for real instruction or supplies on something you just wanted to try? Like in throwing it against the wall to see if it sticks?

Let's parse the reporting a little further:
Research is mixed on merit pay's success. A rigorous and closely watched study of a Nashville incentive-pay program found it didn't improve student test scores, while a study of Denver's merit-pay initiative found it attracted higher-quality teachers and kept them in hard-to-staff schools. [CONVENIENTLY LEAVING OUT - BUT DIDN'T IMPROVE SCORES]
But there is a key difference between those programs and New York's. Both Nashville and Denver directly linked performance pay of teachers to the performance of students in their classes. The Denver program also considers classroom evaluations as part of the bonus pay and allows teachers in non-tested subjects to get cash based on schoolwide improvements.
So, the Nashville experiment which DID use individual merit pay failed but Denver is somehow counterposed as not failing to justify saying "Research is mixed on merit pay's success" when in fact there it also failed in raising scores. In fact research has been clear that merit pay has been a total failure wherever it has been tried. But here comes a bait and switch tactic by saying the Denver experiment "attracted higher-quality teachers and kept them in hard-to-staff schools." Exactly what is meant by higher quality teachers? Based on what? Test scores? Or were they from Teach for America which automatically makes them higher quality in the world of ed deform?

A working paper (pdf) just released by Harvard University economist Roland G Fryer flatly contradicts the argument. In a randomised trial in more than 200 New York City public schools, he found "no evidence that teacher incentives increase student performance, attendance or graduation". On the contrary, Fryer reported that teacher incentives may actually decrease student achievement, especially in larger schools.

Another failed ed deform "experiment" on the children in this country. But why site research that refutes WSJ editorial policy? 

Sorry, I have to give this piece an "F". But I have an idea for how Rupert can improve the quality of reporting on the WSJ. Launch an experiment to determine whether rewarding reporters with extra cash would boost performance.

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Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Has UFT/AFT Given Up Pretense They Are Opposed to Individual Merit Pay?

Teachers for a Just Contract has a pretty good analysis where they claim that agreements between the UFT and the DOE has broken down the so-called barrier between school-based merit pay and individual merit pay, something the UFT/AFT (which will endorse these schemes officially at next week's convention in Seattle) said it would never do. But they said they would never do a lot of things. I put the TJC position up on Norms Notes- "ANOTHER TABOO VIOLATED: UFT AGREES TO INDIVIDUAL Merit Pay..." which elicited this comment from a chapter leader:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post

What's missing from TJC's analysis, which is very good, is that UFTers who are selected for this merit pay scheme will be directly and or indirectly helping management rate their union brothers and sisters and potentially getting them fired. What other union would do such a thing. Can you think of one? This is the result of years and years of appeasement and a failure to build a strong, informed, democratic union.

The UFT is participating in the ruling elite's desire to crush teachers' unions, privatize public education and regiment teaching and learning through the use of data, high stakes testing and new teacher evaluations. All of this might be labeled as follows:

THE DICTATORSHIP OF UNIFORMITY!!!

The UFT understands this but like so many other unions today is unwilling to challenge Capital. Why? They believe they can temporize the situation. They believe they will "get through this." This can only be classified as self serving, infantile and unrealistic. The President of our country is leading this attack on education. Where is our vision? What are we fighting for? We are always "fighting" against something? What is our program and how do we communicate this to our members and the community?

Is the UFT afraid of events "catching fire" if they truly try to educate and mobilize our union? Are they afraid of losing power? Are they afraid of being crushed by the ruling elite, by Wall Street?

These are amazing times. What will be done?

Sincerely,
A Lonely CL by the Sea

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Afterburn: Later we'll delve into signs there will be an ATR "agreement" - sellout - before long.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Ravitch and Meier on "What's Wrong With Merit Pay?"

Bridging Differences


Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch have found themselves at odds on policy over the years, but they share a passion for improving schools. Bridging Differences will offer their insights on what matters most in education.

--April 21, 2009
Dear Deborah,
Over time we have developed a very solid and smart community of readers who like to argue with us and with each other. That is as it should be. And of course we need to bridge differences—or disagree—with them, too, as we do with each other.
So the subject today is merit pay. This is an important topic because it has become clear that President Obama has decided to hang his hat on this idea. It has not yet been explained just what he means by merit pay. Does he mean that teachers should be paid more for teaching in what is euphemistically called “hard-to-staff” schools? Or paid more for teaching in areas where there are shortages, like certain kinds of special education or subjects such as math and science? Or paid more for mentoring other teachers? Or paid more for teaching longer days?

More at
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/

Monday, March 30, 2009

Ed Notes Foundation to Fund Microsoft Reform


The Ed Notes multi-billion dollar foundation has announced a software reform movement with the aim of getting Bill Gates' Microsoft corporation to produce software that won't cause your computer to want to pack its bags and head off to Australia.


"Since Microsoft resists the expansion of competitive operating systems, browsers and other software that would lead to higher quality products and Microsoft monopolists resist measuring and rewarding effectiveness, this is a long overdue reform effort," said Ed Notes spokes animal Pinky, the cat.


Ed Notes spokes animal, Pinky

"In fact evidence shows no connection between the quality of Microsoft software and most of the measures used to determine the pay of its employees, who appear to be compensated by the length of computer code they write, rather than how well it works. The quality and superiority of software from companies like Apple -- these all are mostly irrelevant to the market place, with Microsoft using ruthless tactics like sending blue screens of death that have been one of the leading causes of computer suicides."

New measures of measuring the effectiveness of Microsoft's software engineers will be implemented. One purpose of measurement would be to deploy the best software writers to the neediest departments of Microsoft, and pay them accordingly; another, to fire the worst. "But the main point," Pinky said, "is that effective software engineering can be taught: The biggest part is taking the people who want to be good -- and helping them."

See Norms Notes Bill Gates is as Ignorant as Bill Maher

Related: The Bill Gates Joke Page

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Merit Pay Miracles at MS 324M

I take it all back. the NY Post reports that merit pay does work miracles – if you look at MS 324 in Washington Heights,

where an experimental merit-pay program is working - parents, teachers and students were overjoyed yesterday that President Obama is on board. Principal Janet Heller and her mostly young and motivated educators said the merit pay is about showing respect for a job well done.

Just take a look at this astounding number: the percentage of students meeting math standards jumped to 71 percent from 39 percent the year before.

Holy cow! And all because of paying teachers $3000 extra a year. Imagine if it had been $4000!

(Mostly) young and motivated educators at MS 324 exuberant over Obama speech.

I can't wait for this year's results when the numbers jump above 100%. I have an idea. Pay teachers 10 grand extra and watch 8th graders do calculus.


Saturday, November 22, 2008

The Unmet Promise of Merit Pay

Somebody tell Randi and uncle Joel.


Sunday, November 23, 2008


by Bernadette Nakamura


Once again, merit pay is being considered as the magical ingredient needed to fix the schools, this time in Washington, where Schools Chancellor Michelle A. RheeJay Mathews devoted his Oct. 6 Metro column to a discussion of this plan. Lest we forget that wants to offer sizable cash incentives to teachers who relinquish tenure protection and raise student test scores. Post education reporter pay-for-performance schemes have failed wherever they have been tried, here is a first-hand account of my Fairfax County experience.


More at the Washington Post


Some teacher comments on headline:

Union Prez [good ole Randi]: Performance Pay Work

SICKENING! - jp

Is this really true: Has anyone done a study to compare similar schools without the merit/bonus program to see if their scores went up also? My school did not have the bonus/merit pay program and our test scores went up...WE went from a C to an A! - LN

What a terrible admission. Translation to parents: I am not working as hard as I can to do the right thing for your child - give me $3,000 extra dollars and I will do it right. - LP

Ed Notes' last post on Randi's statement.