Merit pay proposed for teachers in high–poverty schools

 The controversial idea of paying teachers based on how much their students learn got a boost when a key congressman recently proposed adding pay–for–performance money for teachers in high–poverty schools to the next version of the federal No Child Left Behind education law. Proponents say merit pay would give teachers incentives to raise the quality of students’ work and could help the NCLB program, which requires schools to show yearly improvement on standardized tests or face penalties. Proposed last month by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, the merit plan has support from Republicans and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Read more at Stateline.org.