Teachers' Attitudes toward Merit Pay: Examining Conventional Wisdom

This examination of data from the 1987–88 Schools and Staffing Survey challenges the common supposition that most teachers oppose merit pay. The authors find that teachers in districts that use merit pay do not seem demoralized by the system or hostile toward it, and teachers of disadvantaged and low-achieving students are generally supportive of merit pay. Private school teachers favor merit pay more than do public school teachers, a difference that may reflect differences in management in the two sectors and a more entrepreneurial spirit among staff in private schools.