Merit Pay (Noun)
Meaning
Extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers).
Classification
Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession.
Examples
- The school district adopted a merit pay system to reward top-performing teachers with extra compensation.
- Teachers at the local elementary school argued that merit pay was unfair and that standardized test scores were not an accurate measure of their effectiveness in the classroom.
- The state government implemented a merit pay program to incentivize high-achieving teachers to remain in the profession.
- Merit pay is a contentious issue in education with some arguing it leads to competition among teachers, while others claim it motivates them to improve student outcomes.
- A federal study found that merit pay had a positive impact on student achievement, at least in the short term, and that it should be considered as a viable option for school reform.