Performance Pay

Understand more about basing salary bonuses or raises on performance rather than solely on tenure
Illustration concept of chalkboard with a money symbol drawn and in the background are a people that represent teachers and administrators.
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Teaching Profession Explainer Teacher Pay, Explained: Salary, Benefits, and Pensions
Learn how teachers are compensated, and the role that states and districts play in setting pay.
Madeline Will, Stephen Sawchuk & Maya Riser-Kositsky, April 17, 2025
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8 min read
Master teachers Krysta McGrew and Justin Stewart work with their peers during a 5K cluster meeting at Ford Elementary School in Laurens, S.C., on March 10, 2025.
Master teachers Krysta McGrew and Justin Stewart work with their peers at Ford Elementary School in Laurens, S.C., on March 10, 2025. The Laurens district is among those who lost federal grant funding meant to provide performance-based financial incentives to teachers.
Bryant Kirk White for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Districts Can't Pay Teachers Promised Incentives After Trump Admin. Cuts Funding
Grants meant for teacher and school leader development in high-need schools were abruptly cut by the Trump administration. Districts are looking for other options.
Olina Banerji, March 7, 2025
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8 min read
Illustration of workers calculating labor cost at a giant calculator
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Student Achievement Does Performance-Based Teacher Pay Work? Here’s What the Research Says
A performance-pay overhaul in one of the country's 10 largest districts offers a test for lessons learned from decades of experimentation.
Matthew Stone & Caitlynn Peetz, June 12, 2023
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10 min read
Arkansas Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders answers a question while taking part in a panel discussion during a Republican Governors Association conference, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in Orlando, Fla.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders answers a question while taking part in a panel discussion during a Republican Governors Association conference, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. Huckabee Sanders is hoping to increase starting teacher salaries to $50,000 under her new plan Arkansas LEARNS.
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
Teaching Profession Teacher Pay Raise Proposals Are Gaining Bipartisan Support. What's in Them?
More conservative governors are signing onto teacher pay raises, a cause that's typically been championed by Democrats.
Libby Stanford, March 2, 2023
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8 min read
Image of paths going left and right, and a strong path continuing forward.
Alexey Yarkin/iStock/Getty
Recruitment & Retention A District’s Long-Term Investment in Cultivating Future Teachers Is Paying Off
Ector County, Texas, saw its teacher vacancy rate drop from 18 percent to 1 percent in less than four years.
Caitlynn Peetz, February 28, 2023
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5 min read
Rear view of a Black female teacher in front of class teaching students - wearing face masks
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Teaching Profession Black Teachers, Pay Incentives, and Evaluation Systems: What New Research Shows
Black teachers in D.C. respond differently than their peers to job-evaluation pressures—and are less likely to opt into a bonus system.
Madeline Will, August 1, 2022
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7 min read
Education Texas House Legislators Abandon Statewide Merit Pay Effort for Teachers
District superintendents called the proposal a violation of local control, while teachers said it would create incentives to teach to the test. The state is attempting to rewrite its school funding formula.
Daarel Burnette II, March 20, 2019
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1 min read
Margaret Flynn, front, a 7th grade teacher in Denver public schools, led other teachers in a march during a rally outside the state Capitol on Jan. 30.
Margaret Flynn, front, a 7th grade teacher in Denver public schools, led other teachers in a march during a rally outside the state Capitol on Jan. 30.
David Zalubowski/AP
Teaching Profession Denver Teachers to Strike Over Merit-Pay System
In Denver, teachers will go on strike Monday to protest a performance-pay system that’s been in place for 15 years. The dispute is illustrative of a larger national shift away from differentiated pay.
Madeline Will, February 6, 2019
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8 min read
Thousands of teachers marched and rallied in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 15, 2018. A month later, more than 30,000 educators went on strike for a pay raise, smaller class sizes, and more support staff.
Thousands of teachers marched and rallied in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 15, 2018. A month later, more than 30,000 educators went on strike for a pay raise, smaller class sizes, and more support staff.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
Teaching Profession Explainer 2018 Teacher Pay: How Salaries, Pensions, and Benefits Work in Schools
An Education Week primer on teacher salaries, raises, performance pay, pensions, Social Security benefits, and health-care premiums.
Madeline Will & Stephen Sawchuk, March 30, 2018
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7 min read
Teaching Profession Two Va. School Districts Invest in Teacher Training, See Student Achievement Gains
A pair of studies presented this month show the results of five-year grant initiatives in two of Virginia's largest school districts to improve student learning in their lowest-performing schools.
Madeline Will, December 12, 2016
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4 min read
Recruitment & Retention Opinion U.S. Department of Education Announces TIF 5 Awards
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced the recipients Teacher Incentive Fund Round 5 grants which give school districts the opportunity to develop innovative solutions for recruiting and retaining highly effective educators.
Emily Douglas-McNab, October 5, 2016
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2 min read
Federal Donald Trump Backs Merit Pay, Funds for School Choice
The GOP presidential nominee wants to give states the chance to use $20 billion in federal money to let children in poverty pick their public, charter, or private school.
Alyson Klein, September 13, 2016
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2 min read
Federal Trump Pitches Using Federal Funds for School Choice, Champions Merit Pay
The GOP presidential nominee says he'd be the "nation's biggest cheerleader for school choice" and offer states $20 billion to create vouchers.
Alyson Klein, September 8, 2016
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4 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
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Recruitment & Retention Opinion Three Wrongheaded School 'Reform' Myths
Many claims about the merits of school reform are "awash in misguided convictions," argues UFT President Michael Mulgrew.
Michael Mulgrew, December 8, 2015
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4 min read
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