One need look no further to see the flaws in a system where teachers’ salaries are based on their students’ academic performance than the analogous system currently in place in the United States, where schools are given performance ratings based on their students’ academic performance. Intended to ensure the success of every American student, the education reform legislation known as No Child Left Behind(NCLB), enacted during George W. Bush’s first term in office, has been heavily criticized since its inception for failing to fulfill its promise. It is my opinion that many of the same problems that have arisen since the enactment of NCLB, basing schools’ performance on students’ academic performance, would also be present if teachers’ salaries were to be based on students’ academic performance. Hence, I disagree with the claim that teachers’ salaries should be based on their students’ academic performance.
　　A primary criticism of NCLB involves the system of standardized testing implemented to rate students’ academic performance. First, the usefulness of standardized test scores as indicators of educational success has been marginalized for a number of reasons. For students it is not uncommon to struggle with exams due to test anxiety, while non-native English speakers have difficulty with the language and cultural biases inherent in exams designed to test native English speakers. Furthermore, teachers and administrators, who are often under intense pressure to improve standardized test scores, tend to teach material that is applicable to the tests whether or not it improves the students’ education. In many cases the outcome of this strategy is that the quality of education for every student suffers. Likewise, a system with teachers’ salaries based on students’ academic performance would suffer from the same problems. The fundamental problem with any performance rating system is that academic performance is not an easily measurable quantity. Students coming from different economic and racial backgrounds, with differing individual abilities, should not be subjected to a standardized system of rating academic performance. Therefore, whether based on exams scores or any other measure of performance, a system basing teachers’ salaries on students’ academic performance is inherently flawed.
　　It is not surprising that parents want to ensure that their children receive the best education possible. Accordingly, teachers must be held accountable for their performance in the classroom. With this aim in mind, advocates of a system basing teachers’ salaries on the academic performance of their students might suggest that without such a system there is little teacher accountability. However, this view is short-sighted in that it fails to recognize the merits of alternative methods of rating teacher performance. For example, consider a system based primarily on classroom evaluation. In such a system, teacher performance could be evaluated by peers, supervisors, parents, and education specialists. This method of accountability would allow teachers the freedom to teach lessons with useful subject matter rather than coursework focused primarily on exam preparation. And unlike a system basing teacher accountability on students’ academic performance, an evaluation based system would shift teacher focus to administering lessons that are both educational and interesting. Accordingly, such a system would be a significant improvement on systems based on academic performance which might discourage students who receive poor performance ratings.
　　In conclusion, basing teachers’ salaries on their students’ academic performance shifts the burden of performance onto students instead of its rightful place with the teachers, and is a flawed method of accountability. Moreover, accurately rating students’ academic performance when the most commonly employed method is a flawed system of standardized examinations is both infeasible and counterproductive. Surely there are more practical methods to determine teachers’ salaries that will at the same time ensure a more productive classroom learning environment.