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Peer-reviewed research 

• A study of a 3-year experiment with merit pay in Texas showed that it didn't work (did not improve student performance) 
• The study was conducted by researchers from the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University.
• The final report (opens in new window): http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/opge/progeval/TeacherIncentive/GEEG_Y3_0809.pdf 
• News article (opens in new window), Title: "Study: Texas' teacher merit pay program hasn't boosted student performance" 

Expert opinion 

• Prof. Daniel Willingham, cognitive scientist, critiques merit pay (YouTube video, dated May 18, 2009)
• Value added measures sound fair, but they are not. In this video Prof. Daniel Willingham describes six problems (some conceptual, some statistical) with evaluating teachers by comparing student achievement in the fall and in the spring.  
• Click here to access the video (opens in a separate window)

Editorials &  anectodal reports (non-peer-reviewed) 

• Try this as a web search term to find many relevant results:  "merit pay debate education" 
• Use "merit pay" as a search term within the Youtube website to find more debate on this topic. 
• Gates Foundation ran a survey of about 40,000 teachers this past year and found that most opposed merit pay. 
• Report: http://www.scholastic.com/primarysources/download.asp
• News article:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011238293_teachersurvey04m.html Title: "Gates Foundation survey: How 40,000 teachers would fix America's schools"
• "Bill Gates' School Crusade," from a recent Businessweek, discusses the problems with merit pay, and quotes teachers (towards the end of the article): http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_30/b4188058281758.htm

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