Programs seek teacher pay system that works
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On the surface, the concept is simple: Pay teachers based on their performance.
As a practical matter, the idea is so complex that many such systems come under criticism for being unfair or unproven to improve the quality of education for children.
But there is no shortage of people trying to find a performance pay system that works.
Federal grants -- such as those for Race to the Top and the Teacher Incentive Fund -- promote basing at least part of teacher pay on student performance.
States also are in on the act, including Pennsylvania, where the state Department of Education has a committee tackling the question.
Pittsburgh Public Schools, too, is trying to solve the puzzle as it works out the details to performance pay provisions included in its five-year teacher contract signed last year.
"This is a hot topic, clearly," said John Hussey, chief strategy officer of Battelle for Kids, a Columbus, Ohio, nonprofit that is helping Pittsburgh as it develops its voluntary performance pay program for teachers.
"I think we're going to see rapid changes in teacher compensation across the country where there is a reward and recognition system or a market-based approach to salaries or many of the other things that are being discussed," he said.
In Pittsburgh, there is an array of performance pay provisions on the horizon, with much of the money coming from federal Teacher Incentive Fund grants.
At the district level, the adequate yearly progress bonus, which takes effect with the results of 2011 state exams, awards each teacher at the top salary step $1,000 if the district makes the goal.
Adequate yearly progress is a student performance standard set under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Results are due this fall.
At the school level, effective in 2011-12, there is STAR, which stands for Students and Teachers Achieving Results.
First Published April 25, 2011 12:00 am
