A history of merit rating of teachers in Canada and the United States

Abstract

Merit rating or merit pay is one of the most discussed aspects of teacher salary schedules at the present time. The consensus of opinion seems to be that superior teaching should be recognized and rewarded, but the questions “how” and “by whom” present tremendously complex problems. At the present time, in Manitoba, the Minister of Education has appointed a committee to consider a study of merit rating. In Alberta, a Royal Commission on Education headed by Senator Donald Cameron has recently presented its findings to the Government of Alberta. A section of this brief deals with the question of merit rating of teachers. In Cranbrook, British Columbia, a merit pay plan was in effect last year and in Halifax, Nova Scotia, merit pay was brought up at a meeting between members of the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union and the Halifax City School Board in the winter of 1960. In the light of these facts, any study which has to do with teacher evaluation or merit rating at this time is indeed very significant. This thesis proposes to find out through documentary study of Merit Rating in various provinces in Canada and Merit Pay Plans in the United States just what has been done in this important field of study and from the evidence gained draw some conclusions.