teacher compensation research and policy overview education commission of the states 2006 national...
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Teacher Compensation Research and Policy Overview
Education Commission of the States2006 National Forum
Tony Milanowski Consortium for Policy Research in
EducationWisconsin Center for Education
ResearchUniversity 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 Innovation
Recruit & 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
Recognize & reward teacher leaders
Differentiated pay
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 outcome measures
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
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
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
(Math, science, special education)
Where?
North Carolina (program discontinued)Charlotte-MecklenburgBaltimoreBlue Valley, KSAustin, TX‘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
Recognizes & rewards additional responsibilitiesApplications:
MentorsPeer coachesLead teachersInstructional Coaches
Additional responsibilities vs. differentiated staffing
Differentiated Pay
Lead Teachers in Cincinnati: + $5,000-6,000Mentors/Evaluators in Toledo: + $5,000Mentors in LA: + $4,300
Differentiated staffing in Milken TAP: Career TeacherMentor Teacher (+ $2,000-5,000)Master Teacher (+$5,000-11,000)Additional responsibilities & longer year
Differentiated Pay - Examples
Little research currently available Similarities to existing pay for extra-curricularsSimilarities to 80’s career ladder programs
Issues:Eligibility & selection criteriaNeed to carefully distinguish between compensable
and ‘expected’ responsibilities Supplemental performance evaluation?
Differentiated Pay
Incentives for National Board CertificationMost states and many districts provide themRange from assistance with application costs to bonuses, 10-15% pay increases
Research suggests:– Mixed evidence on whether NB teachers produce
higher levels of student achievement
– Incentives raise rate of NB participation– 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, Houston? - US DOE TIF grants
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 (Denver approach?)
Students not assigned to teachers at random
US DOE TIF grants more experimentation
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….
No huge effects 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
- HR Alignment needed to support pay change
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