Teacher pay based on student results: a ridiculous idea? Not as ridiculous as all that if we want to enhance Canadian competitiveness on a global scale. This, in any case, is the hypothesis developed in a recent Fraser Institute study.
In the report, entitled "Teacher Incentive Pay that Works", the author, Vicki Alger, argues that teacher compensation should depend on the performance of the young Canadians in their care, in order to maintain their level of competitiveness globally. Because while Canada's education system is impressive at an international level, its ranking has slipped in the OECD PISA study which assesses the achievement of 15 year old students in core subjects. In addition, the study noted that there are significant differences between Canadian provinces as well as differences in results between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students in the country.
A shortage of talented teachers
The American researcher points to Canada's teacher compensation system, which is based on seniority and qualifications and not on results obtained. As proof of this, Canadian teachers reach the top of their pay scale in 11 years, compared to an average of 24 years in the other countries. They are only rarely evaluated, namely one pre-arranged visit every five years. Yet the study stresses that effective teachers are a decisive factor in students' academic success. They are able to help their students overcome socio-economic factors hindering their success such as poverty, native language, parental education levels, family background, etc. On the other hand, a fixed salary system contributes to teacher shortages in some geographical areas of critical need, and does not attract enough talented teachers. Finally, under the existing salary system teachers are not motivated to review teaching methods used in the classroom.
10 incentive programs
To support her remarks, the researcher cites 10 incentive pay programs implemented in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Accordingly, students at schools which pay their teachers for results do better. While some programs give deserving teachers annual bonuses and a base pay raise every year, others use student performance to determine how a teacher progresses along the pay scale. Moreover, the data indicates that incentive pay programs are more profitable, more financially viable and, when they are properly designed, more effective than reducing the number of students per class, or increasing subsidies. They were found to be successful even in disadvantaged student populations. Furthermore, the majority of teachers participating in these programs support their implementation and do not report any negative impact on work climates at the schools which have put them in place.
Managing schools as businesses
The slump in Canadian students' performance, particularly in science, the differences in academic standards from one province to the next, or between Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal students, show that the time has come to implement incentive pay, once again according to the study. Yet some experts, such as Wayne Ross, a professor at the University of British Columbia, cast doubt on the validity of these programs. In his opinion, this system relies on an erroneous assumption that a pay increase would motivate teachers to work harder. Annie Kidder from People for Education shares this view and points out that education cannot be thought of as a business. She believes that a student's success depends on many factors apart from the teaching he or she receives. For her, there is no evidence that links a child's failure to teaching quality.