Questions about how to value experience, education, certification, and pedagogical skills — the big four of teacher inputs — have created one of the most highly contentious fields of inquiry in education, particularly since they have clear implications for the design
of teacher compensation systems.
Despite the need to keep the focus on academic achievement, the Teacher Advancement Program acknowledges that research has identified pedagogical methods that help students learn, so it includes evaluation of classroom skills as part
of its teacher compensation system.
A much more productive line of inquiry is one that explores the costs of the inefficient, rigid structure
of the teacher compensation system and the possible benefits of replacing it with a more market - based system.
Not exact matches
It appears that education policies related to both
compensation and working conditions must evolve further if school
systems are to address the challenge
of staffing math and science classrooms with
teachers of strong academic caliber.
Years
of planning, discussions, and negotiations yielded a new, complex
teacher evaluation and
compensation system in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Allan Odden, principle investigator
of the
teacher compensation project for the Consortium on Policy Research in Education at the University
of Wisconsin - Madison, studied the
system and the
teacher response.
While increasing numbers
of school districts offer pay incentives to address math and science staff shortages, the authors conclude that «
compensation and working conditions must evolve further if school
systems are to address the challenge
of staffing math and science classrooms with
teachers of strong academic caliber.»
Though Denver had a typical salary schedule (see Figure 1) our data overthrow many
of the preconceived notions held by
teacher unions, school administrators, policy leaders, and opinion makers about how
teachers perceive
compensation systems.
The Denver Public Schools, with the collaboration
of the
teacher union, launched a Pay for Performance pilot program in 1999 and, when it ended in 2003, started a more comprehensive Professional
Compensation System for
Teachers (ProComp).
We are also excited about our innovative
teacher career ladder and professional development
systems in which we recruit talented educators, provide them with opportunities to develop their craft, and retain them through formal recognition
of their expertise, generous
compensation, and a manageable yet challenging workload.
Most
of that money was paid out using traditional single - salary
compensation schedules, a
system that typically pays the same salary to all
teachers with the same level
of education and number
of years in the classroom.
Of course, the effects of moving to a system of compensation based on assessment by principals depend on the relative importance they place on a teacher's ability to raise standardized test scores when making overall assessments of teachers» effectivenes
Of course, the effects
of moving to a system of compensation based on assessment by principals depend on the relative importance they place on a teacher's ability to raise standardized test scores when making overall assessments of teachers» effectivenes
of moving to a
system of compensation based on assessment by principals depend on the relative importance they place on a teacher's ability to raise standardized test scores when making overall assessments of teachers» effectivenes
of compensation based on assessment by principals depend on the relative importance they place on a
teacher's ability to raise standardized test scores when making overall assessments
of teachers» effectivenes
of teachers» effectiveness.
Meanwhile, in school districts from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles and Seattle,
teacher unions and superintendents have clashed over the use
of new evaluation
systems that base
compensation on student test scores.
Teacher and principal evaluation
systems were just one component
of those plans, and nearly 90 percent
of a plan's score in the grant competition was awarded for elements other than evaluation and
compensation systems.
Moreover, the statewide schedule is typical
of teacher compensation in most other public school
systems nationwide.
Because the current backloaded
system provides greater retirement
compensation for older
teachers by decreasing the retirement
compensation of younger
teachers, paying a large premium for experience may not be the most equitable way to compensate
teachers.
Despite some success in rewarding
teachers for producing better student outcomes, the career ladder was a target
of the same criticisms that challenge virtually all attempts to tinker with
systems of teachers»
compensation.
These mixed findings underscore the challenge
of designing a
system of teachers»
compensation that rewards quality in a fair and equitable manner — a political challenge as much as a technical one.
I believe in overhauling
teacher evaluation
systems and much
of the policy architecture they undergird (preparation, credentialing,
compensation, tenure, etc.).
In my piece I cited a randomized controlled trial
of the
Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), which provided competitive grants for districts to revamp their evaluation and
compensation systems.
In the first two years
of his tenure, DISD adopted a new principal evaluation
system and a
teacher evaluation
system that ties
teacher evaluations to performance, student achievement results, and
compensation.
According to a recent study by AIR,
teachers and school leaders in the Newark Public Schools had positive views
of its overhauled evaluation
system, but only one in four
teachers viewed a new
compensation structure as «reasonable, fair and appropriate.»
Through the
Teachers and School Leader Incentive Program, ED shall award competitive grants to eligible entities for the development, implementation, or expansion
of performance - based
compensation systems or human capital management
systems.
The measures
of teacher quality that are used by most public school
systems to screen candidates and determine
compensation — certification, experience, and education level — have been well researched, but there is little definitive empirical evidence that these characteristics, defined in general terms, are associated with higher student achievement.
There are many interrelated storylines: turnover in city government, shifting demographics, the creation
of a non-district charter sector, the mayoral takeover
of the district, Michelle Rhee's hiring, the
teachers» union scandal, implementation
of a new
teacher evaluation and
compensation system, and the elevation
of Kaya Henderson after Rhee's departure.
Many young
teachers, who are paying off student loans, starting families, and buying homes, might prefer more
of their
compensation paid up front rather than diverted into a
system from which they may well never benefit.
What to watch: In addition to offering additional
compensation for
teachers in hard - to - staff subjects and schools, New Mexico has recently developed and implemented a number
of teacher leadership opportunities in order to develop a stronger support
system for
teachers.
Maine's ESSA plan states that in order to ensure that all students have access to excellent educators, all the
systems in place to support
teachers — including the procedures, programs, and operators responsible for recruitment and selection; preparation and licensure; professional learning and growth;
compensation; and career pathways — must be aligned and part
of a common framework.
The task has proven so difficult that last August, the federal Education Department gave states and districts until the start
of the 2013 - 14 school year to have the
systems fully implemented for use in
teacher compensation and retention decisions.
Federal law in postsecondary education must also be a robust source
of support for local innovation, research, and implementation
of strategies designed to improve
teacher and principal effectiveness and include: Evidence - based preparation and professional development; Evidence - based evaluation
systems that include, in part, student performance; Alternative certification programs that meet workforce needs; State and school district flexibility regarding credentials for small and / or rural schools, special education programs, English learners and specialized programs such as science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics; and Locally - determined
compensation and
teacher and principal assignment policies.
Okabe said the union disliked how the state's offer required
teachers to «take a blind leap
of faith» by agreeing to an evaluation
system that has not been fully developed or defined, yet would determine future
compensation and job security.
Kate Leckonby, a Wake County school
teacher who took part in a panel session to brainstorm alternative teaching
compensation systems at the Emerging Issues Forum, explained how McCrory's proposal would mean a
teacher in her ninth year
of teaching, like Leckonby, would be making roughly the same amount
of money that a
teacher in her first year would earn.
Teacher Leadership and
Compensation System: Explains Iowa's new career ladder that rewards effective
teachers with leadership opportunities and higher pay; 39 districts participated in first year, with goal
of all districts participating by 2017 https://www.educateiowa.gov/
teacher-leadership-and-
compensation-
system
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and all
of his acolytes who are rushing to implement performance - based
compensation for
teachers might want to take a close look at the preliminary results from a Chicago program with this focus that was initially started when Duncan ran the city school
system.
TSL promotes the implementation
of performance - based
compensation and comprehensive human capital management
systems for
teachers, principals, and other school leaders.
Two
of those were that Kansas has no statewide evaluation
system of teachers and principals, and no
system of tying
teacher compensation to student achievement, she said.
She has extensive experience in student achievement data analysis, design and implementation
of district data
systems, statistical methodologies, and the creation and use
of relational databases in
teacher evaluation and performance - based
compensation reforms.
He has been the lead or co-lead author
of numerous evaluations (including It's More Than Money, Catalyst for Change, and Pathway to Results, the first comprehensive, longitudinal evaluative studies
of the impact
of performance - based
compensation on student achievement,
teacher effectiveness and
systems change) and articles, and provides briefings to members
of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department
of Education, state legislatures and departments
of education, and the media.
It implemented a performance - based
compensation system combining student growth and achievement measures with 23 measures
of school effectiveness, such as positive school culture, effective parent engagement, and
teacher leadership.
Although a wealth
of literature addresses performance - based
compensation systems for
teachers and their effects on student achievement, the best evidence to date comes from other countries and may not apply to the US K — 12 education
system (Rand, 2009).
States and school districts are using the evaluation
systems to make key personnel decisions about retention, dismissal, and
compensation of teachers and principals.
These prescriptions were developed by a diverse group
of 26
teachers who volunteered months
of their time and leveraged their unique classroom experiences to tackle the problems
of an antiquated
compensation system and punitive school climate.
Regardless
of the current political context, effective
teacher performance appraisal
systems are a core element in the effort to improve student learning and necessary to inform
compensation systems based on
teacher performance.
«While some
of these districts are able to do so because they converted to a performance pay
system, like Washington, D.C., some do so using a traditional model
of teacher compensation, like Chicago and Milwaukee,» she added.
While the nations we seek to compete with are drawing their
teachers from the tops
of their college classes, the
compensation schedule in North Carolina leads to a
system where most
teachers are not coming from the top halves
of their graduating classes.
·
Teacher compensation should be restructured to provide more incentives tied to performance, first by significantly reducing the number
of steps on the salary scale, and then by phasing in a performance based
system as the value - added assessment model evolves to the individual classroom level.
Under Bennett, the state offered a model
compensation system that angered unions because it gave districts a mechanism to pay considerable portions
of teacher raises as one - time bonuses instead
of permanent pay raises.
Given the intensely polarized rhetoric around
teacher compensation and the clear paradigm shifts under way in teaching, we began our process
of generating recommendations by examining the clear benefits and shortcomings
of the current
system.
It will also share information about the
Teacher Incentive Fund, a federal program that helps high - need schools develop and implement performance - based teacher and principal compensation systems, and Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which focuses on preparing, training, and recruiting high - quality teachers and prin
Teacher Incentive Fund, a federal program that helps high - need schools develop and implement performance - based
teacher and principal compensation systems, and Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which focuses on preparing, training, and recruiting high - quality teachers and prin
teacher and principal
compensation systems, and Title II
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which focuses on preparing, training, and recruiting high - quality
teachers and principals.
If we want to attract and retain the
teachers our children deserve, we need our
compensation system to address the reality
of the classroom: teaching is not a profession for the unambitious or the goal - shy.