Merit pay for teachers - Some people think teachers' pay should be increased if their students do well on tests - Are you in favor of merit pay?

This is a social questions to start a thoughtful discussion and explore the pros and cons of introducing merit pay for teachers.

From Wikipedia: Merit pay is a term describing performance-related pay, most frequently in the context of educational reform. It provides bonuses for workers who perform their jobs better, according to measurable criteria. In the United States, policy makers are divided on whether merit pay should be offered to public school teachers, as is commonly the case in the United Kingdom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_pay

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial world-wide test of 15-year-old school children’s scholastic performance, the implementation of which is coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

An evaluation of the 2003 results showed that the countries which spent more on education did not necessarily do better than those which spent less. Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands spent less but did relatively well, whereas the United States spent much more but was below the OECD average. The Czech Republic, in the top ten, spent only one third as much per student as the United States did, for example, but the USA came 24th out of 29 countries compared.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PISA_(student_assessment)