Homework Question on Performance Pay
- Define “performance pay” (200 words maximum)
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of merit pay in general (not for teachers) and why companies may adopt it (500 words maximum)
- Explain why teachers’ unions have been against the idea of merit pay for teachers (300 words maximum)
- Summarize the argument FOR merit pay for teachers (400 words maximum)
- Summarize the argument AGAINST merit pay for teachers (400 words maximum)
- State whether you are IN FAVOR OF or AGAINST the idea of performance pay for teachers and the main reasons why (250 words maximum)
- List FOUR sources you have found which have helped you to complete the assignment
Homework Answer on Performance Pay
In recent years, a growing number of firms have embraced pay schemes that tie employees to their performance. Merit pay, knowledge-and-skill based pay, and pay per performance, are all forms of payments that are currently making headlines in the discussion on employees’ mode of compensation. For many years, teachers have been receiving their compensations and benefits based on their qualifications, as well as the number of years that they have been in service.
However, many countries have begun to realize that the traditional mode of compensating teachers is somehow inappropriate, and something should be done to reward individual performances. Merit pay may not be the best solution for boosting students’ performance, but one question that education strategists should ask is whether the world requires critical thinkers or test-takers.
Performance Pay
Performance pay, or pay-for-performance, involves paying employees their salaries and wages by basing their payment on how well they work in their respective posts. In the teaching profession, performance pay is a system that ties teachers’ salary to student performance (Ornstein, et al. 39). In most cases, performance pay involves monetary rewards offered to individuals, but it can also involve other forms, which include sanctions, reducing workload, promotion, and public recognition (“Merit Pay for Teachers” 2).