7 June 2011

Sir John Graham Is Right – Performance Pay Has Merit

“Sir John Graham is right to say that performance pay could help New Zealand’s schools,” says Steve Thomas, Researcher at Maxim Institute.

“Performance pay has the potential to attract and retain good teachers into a profession that is incredibly important,” according to Thomas. “It is actually about giving good teachers more recognition and incentives to improve, just like in other professions. Teachers ought to have that same opportunity.”

“Having said this, the design of the system is crucial. If performance pay is not well thought through, and doesn’t reward the breadth of what teachers contribute to a school, it could actually undermine the profession. That’s why we recommend that if New Zealand were to establish teacher standards and performance pay, they should reflect more than just academics. Certainly the improvements a teacher sees in children’s academic achievement is important, but so too is their contribution to the wider life of the school and their capacity to work in a team with other staff. All of this should be considered,” says Thomas.

“There is no reason for alarm when it comes to performance pay. The Education Workforce Advisory Group have told us that we don’t have enough high-quality graduate teachers. Long-term, performance pay could help make teaching a more rewarding and attractive profession.”

ENDS

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