CONTACT:  Will Potter  (202) 822-7823 

October 23, 2006 

NEA  Labels Teacher Incentive Fund Long on Politics, Short on Substance

Weaver says program "hurts those that it purports to help: children" 

WASHINGTON—The Secretary of Education today announced the first grant recipients of the “Teacher Incentive Fund,” a program that provides financial bonuses to teachers and principals who raise student achievement in low-income schools. The Teacher Incentive Fund will eventually distribute $99 million for grants to local and state education agencies. An initial 16 grants totaling $42 million will be awarded.

The National Education Association considers the program “unnecessary and duplicative” and has called on the administration to resist diverting funds into this unproven experiment and instead target existing underfunded programs such as Title II Teacher Quality State Grants, which already allow states and school districts significant flexibility to utilize funds for activities that best meet their needs.

The following statement can be attributed to Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association:

“England tried it. Canada tried it. Several U.S. school districts have tried it. It has never worked. Paying teachers based on the test results of their students has failed for many reasons. But mainly it has failed because it hurts those that it purports to help: children.

“Students learn best when teachers work as a team, not as free agents competing for a financial reward. These grants will promote unhealthy competition in a profession that thrives on teamwork and collaboration. Real learning is the casualty when teachers shift their focus from quality instruction to boosting test scores.

“There are lots of ways to increase student achievement in low-income public schools and give every child a basic right to a quality education. In districts where schools are failing to make adequate yearly progress, educators are crying out for smaller class sizes, better professional development, more parental involvement, and updated textbooks and technology. Labeling, sanctions and burdensome paperwork are a part of their daily lives. Yet the president and secretary of education offer financial bonuses as the answer to their challenges. This program is short on substance and long on politics.

“Struggling schools have been deprived of the tools and resources they need to succeed. Instead of diverting  $99 million to another experiment, we should be investing in teacher mentoring and improved teacher recruitment through No Child Left Behind’s Teacher Quality State Grants, which are severely underfunded.

“The Teacher Incentive Fund is a flawed concept that reduces teaching to a class system of winners and losers. Teachers understand that politically motivated panaceas do nothing to improve teacher quality.”

For more information on the Teacher Incentive Fund:
www.nea.org/lac/letters/705Hincentive.html

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.