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Argument: Merit pay motivates teachers to cheat on test-scoring

Issue Report: Merit pay for teachers

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“Top Ten Reasons Why Merit Pay for Teachers Is a Terrible Idea”. Education Portal. July 10th, 2007: “6. It Encourages Cheating … In a recent study, economist Steven D. Levitt proved that dozens of teachers in the Chicago School District who were involved in a merit pay program altered test scores to influence their salaries. Did the teachers cheat because they were bad people or because they wanted to make sure they received the pay they worked hard for and felt they deserved? And if it happened once, how many times could it happen again?”