Teacher Compensation Research and Policy OverviewSEDL Policy Forum 2005

Tony Milanowski Consortium for Policy Research in

Education

Wisconsin Center for Education Research

University of Wisconsin-Madison

1991: Odden & Conley, “A New Teacher Compensation System to Promote Productivity”

1995-97: Exploratory design meetings with National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, leading edge states & districts, national teacher organizations

1997: Odden & Kelley, Paying Teachers for What They Know and Can Do (2nd ed. 2002, Corwin Press)

1996-2005: Research on school-based performance awards & knowledge & skill-based pay; National Conference.

www.wcer.wisc.edu/cpre

 

CPRE Work on Teacher Compensation Innovations

What are they?

Where are they being used?

What do we know about how they work?

 

Teacher Compensation Innovations

Compensation Innovation Menu

Strategic Need InnovationRecruit & retain in hard-to-staff, high need schools

Signing bonus, ‘add-on’ to base pay, loan forgiveness, housing assistance, extra retirement credits

Recruit & retain in shortage areas Signing bonus, ‘add-on’ to base pay, higher placement on pay schedule

Improve skills of current faculty Knowledge & skill-based pay

Motivate effort, focus on goals, common sense of purpose

School-based performance awards

Motivate, ‘reward the best’ Individual performance awards based on student achievement

Where?

California (National Board Certified teachers)New YorkNevadaHoustonPhiladelphia, Baltimore, Hamilton Co, TNMiami-Dade, Palm Beach, FLCharlotte-Mecklenburg, NC

 

Incentives for Teaching in Hard-to-staff or High-Need Schools

Relevant Research

Teachers tend to move out of poor, non-white, low achievement schools Both pay and working conditions affect teacher job choiceEconometric studies suggest relatively large financial incentives would be needed to influence teacher choiceNo large scale studies of targeted incentives; anecdotal evidence positive from some districts

 

Incentives for Teaching in Hard-to-staff or High-Need Schools

Signing Bonus ($2,000)Deferred Accountability Bonus ($500-750) (to be replaced with performance pay 2006-07)Master Teacher Incentive ($1,500-2,500)Reduced class size and extra resourcesPaid/subsidized Master’s degree tuitionPay incentives to help retain quality school leaders

 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Equity Plus Program

(Math, science, special education)

Where?

North Carolina (program discontinued)Charlotte-MecklenburgBaltimoreBlue Valley, KS‘Covert’ programs (bring in at higher step)

 

Hiring/Retention Incentives for Teaching in Shortage Areas

Relevant Research

Some evidence that math/science teachers have better- paying alternatives outside education than other teachers

Significantly higher base pay (at least 25%) would be needed to attract a significant number of Wisc. math, science, and technology majors to teaching

Evaluation of NC program concluded that modest incentives can have a positive effect on recruitment of math & science teachers

 

Incentives for Teaching in Shortage Areas

Incentives for National Board CertificationMost states and many districts provide themRange from assistance with application costs to bonuses, 10-15% pay increases

Research suggests:– NB assessment does identify teachers with higher

levels of student achievement

– Incentives raise rate of NB participation

– Mixed evidence on whether NB improves skill – NB teachers may not be teaching where most

needed

Knowledge & Skill-based Pay I

Incentives for Professional Development Participation

Iowa, Minneapolis, Douglas County, CO, Plymouth & Menomonee Falls, WI, Delaware

- Moderate participation, relatively low cost, and perceived effectiveness in Douglas County

- Shaky start in Minneapolis due to district leadership changes, implementation problems, and new direction from state level

Knowledge & Skill-based Pay II

Pay for Demonstrating Competencies in the Classroom

Based on a comprehensive model of what teachers should know and be able to do

- Explicit standards, multiple practice levels, and behavioral rating scales

- Multiple classroom observations & multiple lines of evidence- Danielson’s Framework for Teaching popular starting point

If periodic assessment shows practice is at a higher level, teacher receives a base pay increase or salary add-on, and in some cases the potential for more step increases (otherwise capped)

Knowledge & Skill-Based Pay III

Where?

Vaughn Charter School, Kyrene, AZ Cincinnati, Philadelphia, La Crescent, MN, Steamboat

Springs, CO

CPRE Research Findings:

Trained evaluators can provide reliable ratingsEvaluation ratings from well-designed & run system are

correlated with student achievementEvaluation process affects teaching practice

Knowledge & Skill-Based Pay Demonstrating Competencies in Classroom

CPRE Research Findings

Requires attention to teacher development - Feedback, coaching- Aligned professional development

Can be costly and time-consuming to administer

In typical district, many teachers are likely to be uncomfortable with uncertain pay and higher expectations for teaching practice

Knowledge and Skill-based Pay Demonstrating Competencies in Classroom

School-based Performance Awards

Bonuses provided to all teachers (and others) in a school when that school achieves pre-established performance goals

Longest-running ‘new’ compensation innovation

North Carolina, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Dallas, Cincinnati, Vaughn Charter, several Arizona districts in response to Prop 301

Kentucky, California

CPRE Research Findings Programs help focus attention & emphasize performance goals

Low to moderate motivational impact- Small bonus amounts- Limited attention to ‘enablers’- Uncertainty about effort-goal link- Uncertainty about funding

May increase turnover in schools identified as low-performing

Performance pay option least preferred by students preparing to be teachers in Wisc.

May be most effective as a symbol rather than a motivator

“Merit Pay” – variable annual pay increases based on principal’s subjective evaluation of last year’s performance

- Problems with evaluation, funding- Programs died out except in a few wealthy districts

Current approach: pay increase or bonus based on achievement of individual teacher’s students, often calculated using ‘value-added’ approach

- Colonial, PA- Charlotte-Mecklenburg- Dallas? Houston?

Incentives for Individual Teacher Performance

Research on Individual Incentives Based on Student Achievement Very limited; mixed evidence from Mexico, Israel

and US

Only very best and worst teachers can be reliably differentiated due to small samples

Not all teachers teach tested subjects Students not assigned to teachers at random Control for student characteristics or not?

Incentives for teaching in high-need schools look promising, especially when coupled with working condition improvements

Incentives for shortage areas: common sense to policy makers but a dilemma for teacher organizations

Incentives for professional development can be useful as a ‘soft’ way to more strategic use of pay, but danger is loose administration

KSBP based on demonstrating competencies in the classroom could work, but needs streamlining and careful implementation

Our Take on Teacher Pay Innovations

Our Take….

Problem may be skill, not willPay change has often been seen as an end in itself, or as another simple solution

Need to use pay change to support other reform strategies that impact instruction; pay by itself is not a strong reform strategy

Strategic Pay Alignment

District Instructional Strategies & Program Initiatives

What Teachers Need to Know & Be Able To Do

Pay forSkill Behavior Results

Human Resource Management SystemsStaffing, Induction/Mentoring, Professional

Development,Performance Evaluation, Leaders

Why are teachers suspicious of performance pay?

Long experience with traditional schedule- Simple, predictable, objective

Distrust of state/district will and ability to continue to fund innovations

Many teachers don’t believe they can reach a higher standard of practice

Teacher ‘sunk costs’ after 7-10 years in traditional schedule

Teacher Acceptance Is Important

Better Research on Pay Innovation Effects is Needed

Why do we know so little about teacher pay innovations?

Many don’t get fully implemented, change frequently, or disappear quickly

No comparison groups, no randomization; before/after comparisons obscured by other simultaneous reforms

Academic incentives vs. policy maker needs