Teachers say student progress should be considered in salaries

Michael Allen reports at The Guardian on reaction to the Sutton Trust poll of teachers on performance pay.

More than half of teachers support pay being based on students’ progress and results, according to a new survey.

52% of teachers said that “considering the progress and results of pupils they teach” should be one of the criteria used to decide whether they should progress along the pay scale.

The survey, conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) for the Sutton Trust,  asked 1,163 primary and secondary school teachers about performance-related pay (PRP) criteria.

Respondents to the survey were allowed to choose more than one assessment preference. The most popular options were assessment by more senior staff (60%) or by the headteacher (54%).

Ofsted inspectors grading lessons was the least popular option (9%), closely followed by evaluation by students (10%).

The teaching unions have called into question the methodology of the survey, saying it is “misleading” and an example of “spin”.

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Sutton Trust’s director of research Conor Ryan said in response to the unions’ claims:

“Our polling is drawn from the highly respected NFER teachers’ omnibus and is a representative sample of nearly 1,200 teachers. They were offered a range of options, and a majority chose the progress and results of their pupils as an appropriate method for deciding their pay.”

Sue Birchall, business manager at Willesborough Primary and Infants in Kent, has overseen the implementation of PRP in her school since last September. She said it has been a “fairly positive process” and is not surprised with the survey’s results.

Read the full article here