Skip Navigation
Daniel Indiviglio

Daniel Indiviglio - Daniel Indiviglio was an associate editor at The Atlantic from 2009 through 2011. He is now the Washington, D.C.-based columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He is also a 2011 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow through the Phillips Foundation. More

Indiviglio has also written for Forbes. Prior to becoming a journalist, he spent several years working as an investment banker and a consultant.

Parents Overwhelmingly Support Merit Pay for Teachers

By Daniel Indiviglio
Aug 25 2010, 4:33 PM ET Comment

From an economic standpoint, merit pay is generally regarded as a pretty effective tool to enhance worker performance. But it isn't easy to apply it in all settings. Case in point: education. Teachers' unions argue that basing pay on standardized testing will just cause teachers to gear lessons to the tests rather than aim for general knowledge and deeper learning. Yet, a new Gallup poll shows that parents overwhelming support merit pay for teachers. Here are the results:

teacher pay gallup 2010-08 - 4.jpg

It's pretty hard to get 70+% of Americans to agree about pretty much anything, so this is a rather staggering result. Of course, the powerful teachers unions won't likely be swayed. But if a better framework can be developed that doesn't rely on standardized tests, proponents of merit pay might be able to make more progress.

Read the full story at Gallup.



Presented by

More at The Atlantic

'State of the WaPo' Watch: Two Articles Worth Reading The State of the Washington Post
Why Israel Might Believe Attacking Iran Is Worthwhile Why Israeli Leaders Might Believe Attacking Iran Is Worth the Effort
The Global Dangers of Syria's Looming Civil War The Dangers of Syria's Looming Civil War
We Don't Need a Digital Sabbath, We Need More Time You Don't Need a Break From Technology
The Myth of Energy Independence: Why We Can't Drill Our Way to Oil Autonomy The Myth of Energy Independence

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Special Report
The Civil War National Portrait Gallery The Civil War
A 150th-anniversary commemorative issue, with Atlantic work by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass, and others. Read more ›
View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

Athens in Flames

Feb 13, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)