Dept. Unveils Revamped Rules for Teacher-Pay Fund

Revisions to Evaluation Systems Among Criteria the Department Wants

In what will ultimately shape key details of the next generation of federally financed differentiated-compensation systems, the U.S. Department of Education last week laid out proposed criteria for grants under the $600 million Teacher Incentive Fund.

Among other factors, the department wants to see the new pay plans incorporate five “core elements,” including educating teachers and the community about the plan; revising teacher- and principal-evaluation systems to guide classroom observations; providing professional development aligned to the new systems; linking student-achievement data to payroll systems; and obtaining teacher, principal, and union support.

The Education Department received $400 million for TIF provided through the fiscal 2010 federal-appropriations process and an additional $200 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The new grants—expected to be awarded this fall—represent the first major scaling-up of the...