Rewarding teachers with bonuses based on their pupils’ success in tests does not raise performance, an American study has concluded. The research, carried out on 300 teachers in state schools in Nashville, Tennessee, found that incentives of between pound;3,000 and pound;9,000 did not raise class attainment above levels of teachers who were not offered the cash. Despite this, most teachers agreed they should receive additional payment if their pupils showed “outstanding achievement gains”.
