Media Release – Friday 14 October 2011
Education Ministers meeting in Melbourne today should stand up for teachers and reject the Australian Government’s flawed teacher performance pay scheme, according the union representing 70,000 teachers in non-government schools.
Federal Secretary of the Independent Education Union, Chris Watt said this performance pay scheme would mean teachers are competing against other teachers for a one-off bonus, and performance will unjustly be measured using data from the NAPLAN student assessment exam.
“Australian staff rooms are known as places where ideas are shared and teachers support each other, but we are worried performance bonuses would lead to competition not cooperation,” said Mr Watt.
“The current proposal from the Australian Government means that only one in 10 teachers would be rewarded with this bonus, when it is clear that many more teachers are doing a great job in educating our children.
“Performance pay bonuses will do nothing to help student learning and will be a counter-productive force in schools, just as similar schemes have been internationally.
“International evidence is clear and unequivocal, performance pay for teachers is bad for schools, bad for teachers, and bad for students,” said Mr Watt.
UCLA Anderson School of Management professor, Samuel Culbert, wrote in 2009 in relation to performance pay; “It’s a negative influence on corporate performance, an obstacle to straight talk in relationships and a prime cause of low morale at work. Even the mere knowledge that such an event will take place damages daily communications and teamwork.”
Harvard University economist Roland Fryer said, there is “no evidence that teacher incentives increase student performance” and in fact pointed to evidence that “student achievement declined.”
“Despite the evidence and expert advice, the government is pushing ahead with a scheme which will use NAPLAN data, parent and student opinion, and school inspectors to gauge teacher performance,” said Mr Watt.
“The international experience consistently points to cheating when tests like NAPLAN become high stakes, for example, when they have monetary resources attached to them.
“In September 2010, the IEU asked the Australian Government to engage in a genuine dialogue with teachers to come up with the best way to recognise and reward high quality teaching and learning. The answer appears to be ‘no’.
“Minister Garrett has acknowledged that the Australian Government is not an employer of teachers, and has no experience in rolling out industrial agreements for teachers, but still seems quite content in coming to an agreement with other ministers about our member’s work without proper consultation.
“The IEU has requested Minister Garrett openly discuss recommendations and working papers under consideration by state and territories, but he has refused.
“We want the state and territory education ministers to demand Minister Garrett and the Australian Government to go back to the drawing board, talk to teachers and experts, and look at the full weight of evidence on performance pay for teachers.
“The IEU and the teachers we represent want a system that recognises teaching excellence over the long-term by increasing pay and giving teachers the recognition for the vital work they do in educating Australia’s children,” said Mr Watt.
Media Contact: Evan Langdon 0429 020 409 or elangdon@ieu.org.au