Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Yet another study showing no results from teacher merit pay

Yet another study showing no results from teacher merit pay: Roland Fryer at http://www.nber.org/papers/w16850

If anything, teacher incentives may decrease student achievement, especially in larger schools.

Third paper showing no gains in NYC; at least fifth or sixth study overall.  

And yet the US Govt. under Duncan seems intent on throwing away millions in our tax payer funds on this nonsense.

Teacher Incentives and Student Achievement: Evidence from New York City Public Schools


Roland G. Fryer

NBER Working Paper No. 16850
Issued in March 2011
NBER Program(s):   ED   LS
Financial incentives for teachers to increase student performance is an increasingly popular education policy around the world. This paper describes a school-based randomized trial in over two-hundred New York City public schools designed to better understand the impact of teacher incentives on student achievement.
I find no evidence that teacher incentives increase student performance, attendance, or graduation, nor do I find any evidence that the incentives change student or teacher behavior. If anything, teacher incentives may decrease student achievement, especially in larger schools. The paper concludes with a speculative discussion of theories that may explain these stark results.

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