Rewarding Teachers

Former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, had a compelling article in the Washington Times yesterday on merit pay for teachers. He commented on the current system:

Instead of rewarding our best teachers and removing the poor ones, we cling to an antiquated, bureaucratic compensation model that is flawed at its core.

He points out that although per pupil spending has increased nationwide, test scores do not reflect this investment. He suggests using money as an incentive to attract teachers to poorly performing schools as well as rewarding teachers' effectiveness.