Teachers' salaries should be based on their students' academic performance.

Should teacher’s salaries be in balance with their student’s performance? To answer this question first we need to know how much the performances of the teachers reflect on the performances of the students. And secondly, we need to know how this academic performance would be measured. With two qualification I generally agree with the statement’s assertion.

To begin with, let us see to what extend does the students’ work mirrors the teachers’ performance. In shaping the academic status of a student, several factors play their role. The student per se, family, society, peers, the educational system, and the teacher make a set of main factors determining the students’ performance. For a fraction of the students’ performance would be due to the teachers, we cannot totally tie the efficiency of the teachers to the students’ academic trends.

Furthermore, if we assign a salary totally based on the students’ accomplishment, the academic performance of the students may be manipulated. When the teachers sense that their economic life is at stake, they may appeal to some wrong ways in order to maintain their salary at a satisfying level. The teachers can take the exams quite easily that every student can have better results, but it is a misrepresentation. Even if the exams hardness is the same, the teacher may elevate the grades. With these possibilities we see that we cannot tie the teachers’ salaries only to the academic performances.

However, there should be a difference between the salaries of the teachers who teach properly and those who do not. In the academic ambiences the tenured faculty members should not be lulled into complacency that no matter what they will have their salaries. Conversely, the teachers who are ambitiously care for the students and try to augment their educational level should be motivated that the system is recognizing their exclusive attempts.

Finally, with two qualifications, we can standardize the salaries of the teachers. First, in considering the students’ performances we should take into the account the aforementioned variables in the first paragraph; we need to see the exact function of the teachers, not to unfairly relate the positive or negative performances of the students to the teachers as there may be other reasons. Furthermore, the works of students should be assessed in the exams beyond the reach of the teachers in order to maintain the integrity of the performances of the students.

In short, as discussed, we should not take an indiscriminate approach for the salaries of the teachers. At the same time, under the fair circumstances and provided that the whole effective elements are considered, we can ascribe the performances of the students to the performances of their teachers and assign the teacher’s salaries accordingly.