Examines the introduction of the Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) 2 and 3 classification into Victorian government schools. The authors outline the background to the development of the AST classification and discuss five issues emerging from their research: the need for valuing of teachers' work as opposed to focusing on managerial tasks; the use of competitive or developmental standards; whether pay should be for the position or for the person; the use of teaching as opposed to nonteaching criteria in selection of AST 2s and 3s; and the degree of validity of evaluation methods used in the AST process. It is argued that the original intention of the AST model has been changed, and that there should be a return to the idea of a career path based on teaching expertise.