Study Suggests Performance Pay's Effect is Weak, Yet Reformers Embrace It

Despite $300 million being handed out to teachers as part of the Governor's Educator Excellence Grants, the program has had an inconclusive impact on student achievement. The evaluation paints an even murkier picture in its conclusion that performance pay led to a "weakly positive, negative or negligible effect." The money was handed out over the course of three years, given to teachers in high-poverty schools. The good news though was that teachers liked the money and liked the program, even when they didn't win the bonus.

Diane Ravitch at EdWeek uses this study to frame a general discussion of Obama's education policy. She fears that despite this report's conclusions being weak, and despite a lack of evidence, too many school districts, and too many people in Obama's administration are pushing ahead with their agenda anyway — for both performance pay and wider measures. They poke holes in studies rather than accepting their findings as inconclusive and accepting that inconclusive grounds are not grounds on which to build comprehensive and risky reforms.

Ravitch further fears that the Obama administration's education vision is more business plan than education strategy. This is clear in many distracts with an appointment to the Chicago public schools system of an uber-technocrat who's experience is perhaps more suited to management and business than education. Same for the new Ed Tech director, who many fear is too close to business. These people are keen on helping run schools as better businesses and ensure the money that is available is spent well, but Diane Ravitch is right to be discouraged by educational leaders shunning evidence in the hope that half-blind drastic reform will lead to higher quality teaching.

Photo credit: Ed Yourdon