1. Dana C. Anselmi
EDUC 6232
The George Washington University

2. Agenda
1) Introduction
2) What is it?
3) History
4) Modern Research
5) Pros
6) Cons
7) Examples
8) Conclusion

3. What is merit pay?
“An additional sum paid
to an employee, as a
schoolteacher, whose
work is superior and
whose services are
valued”.

4. The History of Merit Pay
 Widely used in the 1890s in
Great Britain (Mansell,
2010)
 Resurrected in Great Britan
and the USA in the 1990s.
As of 2011, merit pay
existed in 27 states.
 Supported today by
Education Secretary Arne
Duncan and the Obama
administration but opposed
by most teacher unions
(Welden, 2011)

5. Educational Research
 Gates Foundation - $2 billion over the past decade
towards school improvement
 Merit pay is an important tenet of their model
(Gates, 2010)

6. Pros of Merit Pay
 Incentive for good
teachers
 Weeds out bad
teachers
 Federal funding in
place for merit pay
brings more money
into schools

7. Cons of Merit Pay
 Encourages teaching
to the test because
there is no defined
rubric for evaluation
 Pits teachers against
one another
 Lack of evidence that
merit pay yields
results

8. Merit Pay Models
 De La Salle School –
SUCCESS
 Oscoda, MI –
SMALL-SCALE SUCCESS
 Chicago, IL –
FAILURE

9. Conclusions
 Are we ready for merit pay?
 Discussion

10. References
Abowd, P. (2008). D.C. teachers divided on merit pay plan. Labor Notes, 1(1),14. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/203697406?accountid=11243
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2010). Learning about teaching: initial findings from the
measures of effective teaching project. Retrieved from
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/college-ready-education/Documents/preliminary-
finding-policy-brief.pdf
Burk, I. (2010). More bang for your buck: The effect of Minnesota's alternative pay for teachers
on the math achievement of high school students. Ph.D. diss., Capella University.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/193266720?accountid=11243
By what measure? mapping and expanding the teacher effectiveness debate. (2012). Harvard
Educational Review, 82(1), 78-82. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/963359548?accountid=11243
Derringer, P. (2009). Race to the top's big question: Is merit pay ready for its close-up?
Scholastic Administrator, 9, 47-47. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/199514236?accountid=11243
Lampkin, M., & Weaver, R. (2008). Is merit pay for teachers a good idea? Ripon Forum, 42(3),
16-18. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/229653767?accountid=11243

11. References
Lavy, V. (2009). Performance pay and teachers' effort, productivity, and grading ethics. The
American Economic Review 99(5), 1979-2011. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/233010612?accountid=11243
Mansell, W. (2010). Merit pay across the pond. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(7), 83-84. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218485171?accountid=11243
Merit Pay. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com online. Retrieved from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/merit+pay?s=t
Sawchuck, S. (2010). Merit pay model pushed by Duncan shows no achievement edge.
Education Week, 29(33), 21-23. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.proxygw.wrlc.org/docview/375353589/139557B56D0
229603C7/43?accountid=11243
Schmitz, G. (2008). A powerful merit pay system for teachers based on skill. Momentum, 39,
34-38. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/194670251?accountid=11243
Toch, T. (2009). The perils of merit pay. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(2), 99-100. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/218542454?accountid=11243
Welden, T. (2011). Does merit pay for teachers have merit? Pros and cons of new models for
teacher compensation. Knowledge Center: The Council of State Governments. Retrieved
from www.knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/capitol-research-does-merit-pay-teachers-
have-merit-pros-and-cons-new-models-teacher-compensation