Merit pay for teachers begins to earn high grades

Three years ago, teachers and other employees at Meadowcliff Elementary in southwest Little Rock, Arkansas, were offered pay bonuses for boosting test scores. Shortly after that, principal Karen Carter noticed some unusual events. Increasingly, cafeteria workers sat with students to chat about school work. Even more startling, the janitor began taking his breaks in the cafeteria reading a book, just to serve as a role model. And when test scores at the end of the year showed improvement, teachers whooped for joy: The better each of their students did, the bigger their bonuses. The janitor and other support staff also were rewarded for the school’s overall gains. Such is the power of “merit pay,” long opposed by teachers and their unions. Read the opinion piece at usatoday.com.