Performance Pay as a Human Capital Policy: Evidence From Texas

• In Event: Policy Issues Related to Teacher Pay and the Teacher Workforce

Abstract

Performance pay programs have traditionally been framed as a direct motivational tool to improve teacher quality, with little evidence to support the theory. This paper examines a broad experiment in performance pay in Texas looking for evidence of the mechanisms through which performance pay can develop human capital. It tests the theory that performance pay programs as a human capital initiative are mediated by district instructional practices and climate factors.

Authors

• Michael Volonnino, The University of Texas - Austin

• Jenna Kelly-Landes, Institute for Public School Initiatives

• Dawn Filer, Institute for Public School Initiatives