A review of the literature reveals that a profession: (1) possesses a unique set of abilities, (2) is based on a systematic body of knowledge, (3) is client-centered, (4) bonds its members together in associations, (5) is accorded a monopoly of licensure to protect standards, (6) possesses a regulatory code of ethical conduct, (7) assumes…

Describes a project to identify the causes of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in a district's schools in an attempt to improve teacher attendance. (MD)

Proposes the use of teacher sabbaticals to improve the quality of teachers. Includes a list of recommendations for implementing a sabbatical policy. (MD)

Provides two teacher evaluation models for principals. Emphasizes teacher evaluation based on teacher's abilities rather than student achievement. (MD)

This article reports on the emotional impact of Threshold Assessment on teachers and schools. Using data from an ESRC funded project, 'The impact of Performance Threshold Assessment on teachers' work' (ESRC R000239286), we seek to contribute to a growing literature on teachers' emotions by sharing some of the insights gained from 76 interviews…

Describes Fairfax County Public Schools' (Virginia) "pay for performance" program for teachers. With solid financial and community support, the district overcame merit pay resistance and obstacles to professionalism by lowering education course requirements, raising academic discipline requirements, creating master teachers, and…

Presents a formula for relating teacher salaries to student achievement. Discusses the problems inherent in measuring student achievement and the importance of the principal's administrative training. Includes a chart and diagrams. (MD)

To make merit-pay plans work, a district's teacher-evaluation system must be both summative and formative--evaluating both for teacher outcomes and for progressive improvement. Only peer-mediated self-appraisal systems seem able to meet such a challenge. Fairly rewarded merit-pay plans depend on accurate teacher evaluations. However, teacher…

The use of student classroom rating data to assist with salary, tenure, and/or promotion decisions is explored. The data can become an important aspect of such decisions, but only after very careful development and negotiation. (JMF)

The author outlines the qualities of excellent teachers and points out that excellence itself is rare in many occupations. He also describes the difficulties teacher's face including the low status they hold in our society. He presents nine steps to follow to achieve excellence in education. (MD)

Argues that standards-based education reform has shifted the focus of school finance from equity to adequacy. Requires an explicit connection between the funding provided to schools and the results produced in terms of student learning. (Contains 19 references.) (MLF)

Recent concern for the quality of education has placed pressure on school administrators to assess and upgrade the competency of their teaching staff. No simple formula exists for measuring teacher competency, however, nor are any new methods guaranteed to improve the quality of instruction. Nevertheless, through a combination of clinical…

Using data from previous comprehensive studies of incentive pay plans, this report draws conclusions about assessing and implementing various incentive pay plans. Following a brief history of incentive pay plans from 1908 to 1983, an analysis of accumulated research is provided that shows the reasons why incentive pay plans for teachers have…

This issue of "Dialogue," a review of labor-management cooperation in public education, focuses on the theme of teacher compensation and evaluation. After a brief introduction locating these topics within the context of nationwide educational reform, the first section describes the advantages and disadvantages of some of the better-known…

The first two-thirds of this book, an adaptation of the 1984 television documentary "To Save Our Schools, To Save Our Chldren," reports on an ABC News Closeup study of the challenges facing education in the United States. The book discusses the vast dispartities between educational ideals and realities, suggests that the future of…