Advancing Pay for Performance

States may be able to play a strong role in rethinking teacher compensation systems, including basing rewards, in part, on student gains.

By Vaishali Honawar and Lynn Olson

As states and school districts start to chip away at the traditional experience- and credential-based salary schedule for teachers, experts suggest that states, in particular, may be able to play a strong role in advancing the move toward performance-based pay and other alternatives, despite some missteps along the way.

For decades, teachers have been paid based on their level of professional education and years in the field. Now, some states and districts are moving to pay teachers based, in part, on the learning gains of their students, their acquisition of specific knowledge and skills other than traditional credentials and credits, or their willingness to take on added responsibilities or hard-to-fill assignments.

The interest in pay-for-performance systems stems from a growing recognition that some teachers are far more effective than others in raising student achievement, and that teachers—like other workers—may...