Teacher Performance Pay

I too struggle with teacher bonuses. I totally agree with Ladner's post on Jay Greene's Blog (full disclosure that he sits on my board but that is not why I agree with him)– teachers need to be rewarded for the success of the school and for their individual contribution to that school. I saw this first hand in one of my jobs in manufacturing. We had an annual bonus that was based on the how well the organization did and how well my department did. It meant that everyone was focused on the overall performance of the plant and their individual performance. And if anyone was a slacker, the peer pressure for that person “stuff” together and not hurt our bonus was pretty intense.

There are other issues with teacher bonuses that we are still trying to work out as well. Because of a few meetings with Rob Weil from AFT I also never had a good answer for him on how we handle the problem of waiting for test score results since bonuses are most likely to have a positive impact the closer they are to the behavior being rewarded. There is also the timing of student testing and the quality of student testing. The ideal solution would be a true pre and post test with the rewards coming soon after the post test. But with school budgets today, will anyone really stomach another test for students and absorb that cost?

More studies are needed to determine how to implement performance plans and truly reward the efforts in our schools. It is great to see some on the ed reform side pointing out some of the issues and looking for solutions. We are completing the write up on our initial study for our Distinguished Teacher program and are still looking for dollars to pilot this program as a possible answer.

Teacher Bonuses on the chopping block

The numbers are getting worse on state budgets which means teacher bonuses are going to be in trouble. I have already heard this in Minnesota and now find the same thing in Utah. Plus Florida has cut way back eliminating the reimbursement for the cost teachers must endure to go through the program in the last round of budget cuts and this year they will have even more.

This will be a ridiculously tough year for performance pay and an even tougher year for National Board.

Here at ABCTE we have put our Distinguished Teacher program on hold due to budget constraints in our own organization and in the states.

The first step in a successful performance pay system is to lock down the funding. It is so detrimental to morale to have a program, get the excitement about the program and then have it vanish two years later.