I am against teachers being paid based on students performance. Each individual student learns differently and has access to various educational resources. This means that students can't be fairly evaluated by State Standardized tests. Many teachers are already underpaid and some are even forced to have to pay for their own classroom materials and must suffer from poor budgeting in their districts. These teachers can't possibly give their students all the resources they would need just because the state isn't investing money into their district. According to NCLB, many of these types of schools would be considered "failing," even if students are making improvements, and in reality, these are the schools that need the most help.
Effective teachers are those that can get to know each of their students personally and know what helps each learn best. I also feel the most effective teachers are the ones that push all students to strive for excellence, no matter their abilities or weaknesses. The teachers that stick out to me most from my educational experience are the ones that made learning fun and taught beyond the classroom, about life in general.
I too am against teachers being paid based on student performance because there are too many other factors that play into how well a student performs on a standardized test. I agree with you that there already are too many teachers who are being underpaid, and it would be unfair for the students to be judged based on their previous test scores. I think it is alright for teachers to be evaluated while they are teaching, but basing their pay on student performance is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI also think that effective teachers take the time to build relationships with their students and help them in every way they can to be successful.