Merit pay gaining steam

By Jim Stergios
October 20th, 2007

As AP and the New York Times reported, New York Mayor Bloomberg is intent on throwing everything and the kitchen sink at education. Charters, AP-specific programs, testing and accountability, and now merit pay. I know Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier don’t think much of Mayor Bloomberg and Joel Klein’s reforms, but from afar we would give our left and right hands for the kind of can-do attitude and willingness to stake out big, structural changes.

The lack of a new generation of education leaders on Beacon Hill is having its impact. Note the departure now of Mike Duffy of City on a Hill to, yup, New York City.

The merit pay plan in New York is reminiscent in part of the mention given to merit pay by Governor Patrick, inasmuch as it balances individual student and student performance incentives with schoolwide progress.

Couple of potential problems, quoting from the NYT:

In each eligible school, the U.F.T. chapter will have a vote on whether to participate. And U.F.T. members join principals in determining how the bonuses will be distributed.

So NY could find itself bumping up against the kind of pushback seen in Boston, when the BTU tried to agree and disagree with the creation of more pilots. Stay tuned.