Submitted by fred stopsky, Jun 9, 2007 00:58

I recall in the 1960s when a wealthy St. Louis suburban community adopted merit pay. Initially, there was great enthusiasm until reality set in. First, how does one define "merit?" Unlike selling cars in which number of cars sold and worth of sales can determine "merit" the field of education is more complex. Are "test scores" the determining criteria? If so, teachers working with advanced placement students will produce higher test scores. Secondly, who decides what constitutes "merit?" The principal? Fellow teachers? School Board? Parents? Students? Thirdly, does a merit scheme work to the detriment of educational experimentation? Fewer educators will try new ideas since no merit process will take into consideration the educator who seeks to try new approaches. Unlike physical entities, children do not function in a linear pattern. Anyone who has had children understands that the sudden insight which shocks one due to its perceptive thinking often comes out of the blue and it is difficult to identify the process leading to the insight. Many bright people can not identify the process which has led to interesting thinking. Sometimes, the truly creative thought appears as if by magic. Great teachers play a role in shaping such thinking and it is extremely difficult to clearly comprehend the process which they followed -- it certainly can not be measured by test scores. I challenge anyone who in college had a great teacher to form a correlation between grades in the class and the great teacher's process of teaching.

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