Posted by Bonnie.
This morning there was an interesting story on NPR on the national debate on performance pay for teachers. The story reviews Obama and McCain’s education platform and looks closely at performance pay, specifically how it has played out in Colorado. Pro-Comp is one of the newer performance pay programs and they are working hard locally to cultivate teacher buy-in, an essential ingredient to a successful performance pay program. Click here to listen to the story.
While trolling the NPR website, I also found a link to an episode of The Conversation from last month that examined pay for performance and focuses on Washington. Click here to listen to the program.
Until recently many teacher unions have adamantly opposed pay for performance. Among other things they fear teachers will be evaluated unfairly. But many of the new pay for performance programs tend to be less rigid and more inclusive. Some teacher’s unions have embraced this new breed and believe they will encourage good teachers and better support struggling teachers. Although these programs are new, several models exist. Here is a link to a chart that briefly explains some the programs in place.
Our recent proposal to the Basic Education Task Force titled A Way Forward advocates adopting a modified pay for performance system that would include a new salary schedule based on three levels of responsibility and skills (Entry, Professional, and Lead), school-based bonuses, and additional funding for hard-to-staff positions as well as National Board Certified Teachers.
