TAP's Elements TAP Outcomes Legislation Understanding Value-Added Teacher Quality Resources Teacher Compensation Teacher Evaluation Teacher Recruitment and Retension Student Assessment Federal Policy Teacher Effectiveness Teacher and Principal Leadership The Working Group on Teacher Quality
Teacher Quality Resources
The following is a list of resources, including publications and websites, that provide additional information on the latest research, policies and discussions focused on teacher quality. Check back regularly as we will periodically update this page with additional resources.
Publications
Teacher Compensation
(Sally Hudson, July 2010)Published by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, this study finds that schools implementing the comprehensive TAP system increase student achievement gains more than similar non-TAP schools. Conducted by Sally Hudson under the guidance of Scott and Donya Bommer Professor in Economics Caroline Hoxby, this paper examines the impact of TAP on student growth in 151 TAP schools in 10 states. Hudson evaluates the effects of TAP on state achievement exam scores in mathematics and reading using synthetic control matching. These student achievement results are particularly relevant as policymakers consider the impact of performance-based compensation reform applied as part of a comprehensive system supporting teacher and principal improvement.
(Craig Jerald for the Center for American Progress [CAP], July 2009)
Written for CAP by leading education researcher Craig Jerald, this report counteracts the failures of existing professional development and evaluation systems by citing TAP as a comprehensive system that reforms teacher compensation, along with other support structures, in an effective and sustainable way. Jerald uses TAP to illustrate the importance of building human capital at the school and district levels. The report notes that performance compensation for master and mentor teachers in TAP schools—the "less famous" aspect of this performance-pay reform—is essential to its ability to not only recognize and reward effective teaching but to also systemically generate improvements in teacher effectiveness.
(Center for American Progress [CAP] and the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching [NIET], July 2009)
Jointly released by CAP and NIET, this memo provides policymakers and educators with descriptions of multiple pay-for-performance programs to consider when designing new programs and policies. The following school reforms are highlighted: 1) the Achievement Challenge Project; 2) Chicago TAP; 3) Denver's ProComp; 4) the Mission Possible program (Guilford County School System, North Carolina); 5) North Carolina's ABCs school-wide bonus program; 6) TAP's national model; and 7) Texas Incentive Programs. The article also provides a review of research on performance-pay programs.
(Center for American Progress [CAP], May 2009)
This report illustrates the effectiveness of pay-for-performance plans that award teachers and school staff incentives based on a variety of measures of teacher performance, including both student growth on standardized assessments and comprehensive evaluations of teacher performance. The study also argues that teachers would be more supportive of these types of programs when targeted to hard-to-staff schools.
(Center for American Progress [CAP], November 2008)
This report uses labor-economic theory and an assessment of the politics associated with teacher-equity reforms to make four recommendations designed to help address teacher equity: 1) create and maintain state data systems; 2) implement new teacher policies simultaneously with a plan to study their effects; 3) require school districts to report spending at each school; and 4) develop and tap into new high-quality sources of teachers that are specifically targeted toward schools serving disadvantaged students.
(Center for American Progress [CAP], November 2008)
This paper addresses how schools across the country struggle to attract and retain effective teachers. The authors use research from other sectors, such as the military, to suggest a range of options that are available to help education leaders overcome this problem.
(U.S. Department of Education, October 2008)
Since the Teacher Incentive Fund was initiated in 2006, new performance-pay models have been created and existing programs have expanded and evolved across the country. This brochure highlights key insights that have emerged as the nation has gained more experience with performance-pay systems.
(Education Commission of the States [ECS], June 2007)
This paper reviews the use of diversified compensation systems as a means to encourage quality teachers to teach in at-risk schools by highlighting promising efforts and practices and areas that are not addressed in these systems.
(Working Group on Teacher Quality, 2007)
This document reflects the findings of the Working Group on Teacher Quality, whose participants share information and build consensus among organizations and experts active on the issue of performance pay and teacher compensation reform.
(Center for American Progress [CAP], December 2006)
This report discusses the importance of teacher compensation reform as a building block for improving teaching quality. The study suggests that policymakers address teacher performance through a focus on policies that are based on a teacher’s actual demonstrated classroom performance.
(Education Commission of the States [ECS], December 2005)
Aimed at policymakers intrigued by the idea of moving teacher pay beyond the single salary schedule, this joint ECS/Teaching Commission issue paper provides: 1) an overview of the research on such a shift; 2) key findings and questions from previous experiences; 3) an overview of some recent attempts to diversify teacher pay; and 4) a comparison and detailed summaries of four leading programs and proposals at the district and school levels.
Rachel Hodgeson, Mentor Teacher, Lowery Intermediate School, Ascension Parish, Louisiana
"Because I teach students on campus just as they do, teachers know I am 'in the trenches' alongside them, and that has earned me a certain respect and has opened classroom doors that might have otherwise been closed . . . We have all grown exponentially through working in a TAP school, and our students reap the benefits daily."