Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pascoe counties in Florida may be among the first to try a new merit pay system if their plan is approved by the state. The program proposed by the three counties would group all teachers into one of four levels: associate, professional, lead, and mentor. Teachers would be assigned a group on the basis of experience, evaluations, and extra duties. These districts would be among the first to pilot the career ladder program that has $25 million appropriated for its statewide implementation. Salaries would increase by between $1,000 and $8,000 based on the outcome of the teacher's classification.

However they decide to implement their approach, we hope that they studiously avoid following in the footsteps of Citrus County. Under their incredibly convoluted performance pay plan--which uses a 125-point rubric to target such things "communication," and "diversity," a classroom teacher who had significantly improved the achievement test scores of 93 percent of her students was considered "average" and not entitled to any bonus pay. In fact, no bonus pay was awarded to any of the teachers in Citrus County. The $190,000 that was allocated for merit pay ended up back in district hands.