The purposes of this descriptive investigation were (l) to construct a reliable instrument for assessing attitudes toward teaching of high school teachers, and (2) to determine if there was a difference in attitudes toward teaching between those high school teachers who were and those who were not involved in a career ladder/merit pay pilot program. Frederick Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory served as the theoretical basis for the investigation.

Analysis of work motivation indicates that motivation factors may be classified in two categories, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation emanates from needs within the individual. Intrinsic motivators include the following: achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and growth possibilities. Extrinsic motivators include the following: organizational policies, salary, working conditions, status, job security, effects on personal life, and interpersonal relations.