Chess perhaps?
Teachers May Earn Cash for Improving Student Achievement Levels
by Beth Fertig
NEW YORK, NY October 17, 2007 —Teachers in 200 of the city’s low-performing public schools will be eligible for cash rewards if they raise test scores this year. Mayor Bloomberg says the program will encourage teachers to work in struggling schools while also challenging them to do more for students.
BLOOMBERG: In the private sector cash incentives are proven motivators for producing results. The most successful employees work harder and everyone else tries to figure out how they can improve as well.
REPORTER: Schools won’t be able to join the program unless a majority of their teachers vote yes. Schools that do raise achievement scores school-wide will receive enough money to give each full-time teacher a $3000 bonus, though committees at each school can choose to reward some teachers more than others for exceptional work.
The 20 million dollar program is privately funded, and will expand to 400 schools next year and eventually include public dollars. In exchange for the union’s support, the city has agreed to ask the legislature to make some changes in the pension system.
Source: WNYC.0rg
As an aside, there is a lot of discussion in many school systems about the relative merits of testing and whether it really improves education. The basic argument is that testing can only do so much and a lot of what is important to learn is not directly assessed. Having noted that, the reason testing has gained so many supporters is that there have been generations of graduates who no longer can write simple basic English and do basic math – to the point where these students can’t understand basic contracts, figure out sales or discounts – the stuff of everyday life.