Examining the Effects of Performance Pay on Teacher Retention Using a Collaborative Evaluation Model

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Districts in Research and Reform Poster Session

Abstract

Systems of performance-based teacher pay promise to retain effective teachers in hard to serve schools, yet results have been mixed. We present teacher retention outcomes of a 4-year teacher compensation grant implemented in a large suburban school district. Using a cluster randomized design, we found that the opportunity for performance-based bonuses of up to $15,000 did not retain teachers at a greater rate than a 1% salary increase. We present these as well as several exploratory findings and situate them within the local context. We also discuss how we (a team of both internal and external evaluators) used principles of improvement science to explain the system that produced these outcomes. We close by discussing policy implications.

Authors

• Jessica Hoskins, University of California - Los Angeles

• Feng Liu, American Institutes for Research

• David Manzeske, American Institutes for Research

• Ryan Williams, American Institutes for Research

• John McClure Cumming, Jefferson County Public Schools