Issue date: 1/28/04 Section: Opinion

There has been much debate recently over whether or not teachers' salaries should be partially based on their students' progress in standardized tests. Many teachers are rightfully outraged by the idea that their incomes may be affected by standardized test scores and childrens' opinions of their classes.

Currently, teacher salaries are based on experience and education. Though it may seem natural to base a salary increase on the performance of a given teacher, student grades may not be directly related to their teacher's ability. This could hurt certain teachers more than others - regardless of their teaching ability - by giving an insufficient raise to some of them, and more than what is deserved to others.

"You have to be convinced that you can, in fact, measure the progress that students make in a year, and that you can fairly tie it to the teacher," said Michael Allen of the Education Commission.

One of the main problems with the argument Allen presents and the proposal for teacher salary increase is whether the progress of the students really be measured accurately and effectively by the standardized tests now in place. While it may seem that standardized tests are efficient and a practical means for knowledge comparison, they are not particularly standardized from state to state, nor are they fair for students from lower income areas and schools.

If this new pay scale is indeed going to be set in place, the school districts and their locations need to be taken into account when the teachers are being observed and the final scores are being calculated.

If the teacher is in a lower income area, the test scores of their students may not, historically speaking, be as high as the scores of those students residing in more affluent school districts. One cannot help but wonder if the teachers who took on a challenge by trying to bring quality education to a poorer area are going to be penalized for doing so. If teachers' pay is based on student performance, this scenario seems feasible.

Continued...

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