Teacher-Quality Groups Lay Out Compensation ‘Essentials’

Washington

Performance-pay systems for teachers that are set up wrong might be worse than no performance pay at all, a coalition of groups promoting teacher quality warned here yesterday.

But the Working Group on Teacher Quality also said the lessons needed to establish successful new pay systems have emerged from the experiences of states and districts that have tried them.

As a result, the group’s new report , which details the “essentials” of reforming teacher compensation, can guide policymakers as they move toward changes, its leaders said. The report endorses paying teachers for growth in student achievement as measured by tests—usually called “performance pay”—but only when coupled with other kinds of evaluation, ongoing training,...