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In economics, how much you get paid is a function of the value society puts on your skills divided by how common your skills are. So, Lebron James makes millions because we value the ability to throw a ball through a metal ring, and we demand that someone be so good at this that only a handful of Americans can fulfill these positions. I'll let you continue the reasoning for teacher pay as a homework exercise...

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how much you get paid is a function of the value society puts on your skills divided by how common your skills are

This is a statement of fact, not opinion of what ought to be. Part of what Gates (and others) are saying, I think, is that to have a better functioning society, we need to increase the value society puts on teaching.

If we provide the educational opportunity that Bill Gates, John Resig, or Larry Page got to every child in America, we will all be a lot better off.

By adding a way to measure teaching ability, we can make good teachers a highly prized resource and reward them by giving them higher salaries and more prominent positions amongst their peers. With measurements we can set standards of how good a teacher have to be and demand that someone be so good at teaching that significantly less Americans can fulfill these positions, driving their worth up.

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