Education

Bonus Backlash

February 06, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Recently, there have been a number of headlines around the country about controversies surrounding performance-pay bonuses that districts are either planning to hand out to teachers, or already have. Houston educators, in particular, weren’t happy after a list of the beneficiaries was published in a local paper. Those not on the list, they complained, might be maligned as ineffective, when, in fact, some teachers of the year didn’t even receive bonuses. How could that be? Well, many bonuses are tied to student performance, measured by standardized test results--in math and reading, mostly. So educators who don’t directly impact those areas, or whose skills with students aren’t apparent on paper, may not be considered.

What’s your opinion of performance-pay bonuses? Are they an effective, fair way to reward teachers? Should “performance” be based on students’ standardized test scores, a review of a colleague’s performance in the classroom, or other factors? And should beneficiaries, along with their bonus amounts, be made public?

A version of this news article first appeared in the Teacher Talkback blog.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read