Ohio would be the first state in the U.S. to replace automatic raises with a performance-based pay system for teachers statewide, said Kathy Christie, chief of staff for the Denver-based Education Commission of the States, a nonpartisan group that researches education policy.
"That is the type of component that really, really resonates with the public," she told the newspaper. "If you are not pulling your weight, if you are not getting performance, if you are not tenacious and really trying to learn and all those sorts of things you want to see teachers doing, then you don't move up at all."
A Colorado school district that made a similar change in pay systems has found success, Christie said, and other schools throughout the country have tried linking student achievement to staff bonuses, though teachers were guaranteed any pay raises outlined in their contracts.
A handful of states have tried performance-based pay programs, but Christie said many have had trouble finding an equitable way to offer pay raises for everyone while giving some merit pay.
If the Ohio law remains in place, state officials would develop new standards to evaluate teacher performance, and student achievement would constitute half of an educator's evaluation, affecting whether any pay raise is awarded.
The idea doesn't go over well with teachers, who are among the opponents of the Ohio law pushing for a referendum to let voters decide whether to keep it or overturn it. They argue the proposal for merit pay isn't fair because student learning is affected by factors beyond a teacher's control, and they question how student achievement would be measured.
"We are concerned about it because currently there aren't any student growth measures that exist that are designed to be valid and reliable for high stakes decisions like teacher compensation," said Matt Dotson, of the Ohio Education Association. He said if the system is perceived as unfair, it could have a negative effect on the recruitment and retention of quality teachers.
Existing teacher contracts would apply until they expire and would not be affected by the new system, the newspaper reported.