Sign up for our newsletter
Home » Edreform University » Communications » Stories & Anecdotes » Merit Pay For Teachers Takes Center Stage: Unions, Candidates Weigh In (CNN, 2000)

Merit Pay For Teachers Takes Center Stage: Unions, Candidates Weigh In (CNN, 2000)

As some states begin to implement systems of performance-based compensation for teachers, such as merit pay or teacher bonuses, educators, along with the National Education Association, among other national teachers’ unions, express opposition to the idea, worried of the competition it might bring and skeptical of the difficulty that would come with creating fair standards. Candidates for the upcoming presidential election Al Gore and George Bush weighed in on the issue as well.

Jeanne Allen explains the necessity of such a system, stressing that the value a teacher can bring to their students’ education is most important in and out of the classroom.