Teacher’s salary must be based on their student’s academic performance.

A strong foundation in education is a prerequisite for the social and economic progress of a nation. Several studies in recent times, including the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results showed that United States is lagging behinds other industrialized nations when it comes to education.  In such a setting, efforts to revamp our educational system and improve our students’ academic performance are called for. Many people argue that teacher’s salary must be based on their student’s academic performance. I do not agree with this proposal.  Several factors play a role in a student’s education, and teachers being just one of the factors, should not be penalized for the lack luster performance of their students.

The academic performance of students varies among different school districts. The socioeconomic status of the students, the effort and interest their parents or care givers put in their education, the inborn and nurtured talents of the students, the guidance of the teachers, the environment at the school, the friends they have , all play a role in determining  a student’s performance in school.    While the role of a great teacher in fostering interest in education is significant, the role played by the students themselves and their caregivers cannot be minimized. Poor neighborhoods, communities with racial minorities and immigrants may have schools with students who do not perform as well as their peers form a different socioeconomic background. If the teachers’ remuneration is undermined by the poor performance, many teachers may just leave their jobs, or move to better school districts.  Without enough teachers the school may even have to close, jeopardizing the already poor state of education in these underserved communities. 

Students’ academic performance is usually measured by the standardized test score or grades they get in class. This system however is not foolproof. The recent school cheating scandal in Georgia where teachers and supervisors manipulated the answers to obtain better test scores is a case in point. The grades given by teachers also vary greatly, and some teachers may be tempted to give better grades if their salaries are going to be based on the grades. Better strategies to identify stellar and ineffective teachers need to be developed.

We do not have an effective system that will measure student’s performance after nullifying the factors that teachers have no control over like poor socioeconomic status, abusive caregivers etc.  Hence basing the salary on teachers on student’s performance should not be encouraged.