Schools for Tomorrow Blog

OK, let’s see if we’ve got this straight. ProComp is "merit pay," according to a front-page headline in today’s Denver Post. Or it’s  "performance pay" as named in the body of the story. Or perhaps it’s "pay for performance," as the title of a book by two of its chief architects and an academic expert attests.

Oh, no, wait a minute! Campaign "literature" from 2005 has the real story:

“Denver’s new teacher compensation system should not be confused with “merit pay” and “performance pay” …these earlier attempts were unpopular due to the perceived subjectivity of the process and the often narrow focus used to evaluate an employee. 

“The ProComp system actually is results-based pay, using multiple criteria to assess teachers’ performance.”   

Ah-ha. Now I get it.

So please tell me, when some of us watching from the sidelines criticize all parties for misleading the  public, deliberately or not, why is it that we get lambasted for being…