Performance Pay Could Cut Teacher Salaries
 
The Minister of Education's refusal to say how much extra top teachers would earn under a performance pay system raises questions about whether the government's real agenda is to cut the teacher wage bill rather than boost teacher quality.
 
The government announced the introduction of performance pay and a cut of many teacher jobs because of the increases in class sizes, in a pre-Budget announcement on Wednesday. It claims the moves will improve teacher quality.
 
NZEI National Secretary Paul Goulter says typically performance pay systems overseas have not increased the overall funding for salaries and reward only a few teachers at the top, while other teachers' pay is actually reduced.
 
"Given the Minister's statement, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the government's decision to introduce performance pay is driven by a desire to cut budgets, not to improve teacher quality," he says. "But introducing performance pay would be a false economy given last week's OECD report on performance pay for teachers that found no clear link between the use of performance-based pay schemes and student achievement."
 
"We have a highly successful schooling system here which depends in large part on the high quality of the teachers in it.  Our teachers are sought out all over the world, and are paid more in Australia and the UK than they would be in New Zealand.  If we want to maintain a great teaching workforce to help ensure New Zealand children continue to succeed educationally, we need sustainable salaries to attract the best teachers."
 
He says Ms Parata needs to give the public an assurance that teachers will continue to be paid a fair salary, in line with other tertiary-educated professionals.
 
"The public and teachers will justifiably be suspicious of a performance pay system that drives down wages and in fact reduces the quality of education for our children."
 
“What teachers would support is working with the government to build a fair pay system that recognises expertise and skills, is based on good quality evidence and is not linked to dodgy National Standards data."

Ms Parata has said the average teacher pay is $71,000; this salary is the top of the teacher scale after seven years and is therefore also the maximum level most teachers reach.   It is near the average because roughly two-thirds of teachers currently have taught for seven years or more.  For more details on teacher pay see  http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/SchoolEmployment/TopicsOfInterest/BaseSalaryandAllowances.aspx  

ENDS

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