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The 180

OPINION: Teacher pay should be based on evaluations

For most Canadian teachers, pay is based on years of service and level of education alone- not on any sort of achievement. Sachin Maharaj says that's not right. He says the whole system would be better if teachers got raises for being good teachers....
CBC Radio ·
For most Canadian teachers, pay is based on years of service and level of education alone- not on any sort of achievement. Sachin Maharaj says that's not right. He says the whole system would be better if teachers got raises for being good teachers.

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In the past, we've heard ideas about linking teacher pay to student achievement. The Fraser Institute issued a report on it last week, and the issue it has come up in B.C., Alberta, and Quebec in the past. But Sachin Maharaj says it's not the right way to reform teacher pay. "The main reason I'm not advocating for that is because if you actually look at the evidence on this and all the places that have tried it, it hasn't worked very well."

He says there needs to be a more rigorous system of evaluations for teachers, involving principals, students, and third parties. The results of those evaluations should then determine how quickly a teacher moves up the pay grade.

Given that we are paying teachers the salary that we are, it would make sense to structure that system to recognize and reward better teaching or more effective teaching. Because the reality is now, regardless of if you're the best teacher in your school or the worst teacher, you're essentially treated the same by the system.Sachin Maharaj

Maharaj thinks it would be relatively easy to implement an evaluation system. And he should know: he's a teacher. He also wrote a report on evaluations and incentive pay for the Canadian Council of Chief Executives earlier this year.

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