DIVERSIFYING TEACHER COMPENSATION

Sunday, December 11, 2005
States are looking at new ideas about teacher compensation as a way to keep good teachers in the schools that need them

DENVER, CO – The Education Commission of the States (ECS) and The Teaching Commission today jointly released a status report on efforts under way across the nation to rethink and redesign teacher pay systems.

The 26-page report, Diversifying Teacher Compensation,provides a look at current and emerging state policy trends; a brief review of research findings and lessons learned; and an analysis of the challenges involved in
moving from a compensation structure based solely on degrees and experience to one based, at least in part, on some measure of performance.

The report also profiles four innovative initiatives, including the Denver Public Schools’ new ProComp plan, to be underwritten by a $25 million property-tax increase approved in November by Denver voters; two
established performance-pay systems, one districtwide (Douglas County, Colorado) and the other schoolwide (the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Los Angeles); and the Milken Teacher Advancement Plan, now being used by
more than 100 schools in 10 states and the District of Columbia.

Diversifying teacher compensation systems is increasingly seen as a critical means of increasing accountability, improving student achievement and recruiting and retaining more high-quality teachers. Twenty of the nation’s governors listed teacher compensation as a top issue in their 2005
State of the State addresses, and eight of them spoke specifically of some type of performance-based or merit pay for teachers.

The report released today builds on ECS’ review, in 2001, of five leading pay-for-performance models that were under development or consideration at the time. That report, Pay-for-Performance: Key Questions and Lessons from
Five Current Models, is available at http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/28/30/2830.htm.

Copies of Diversifying Teacher Compensation are available for $10 plus postage and handling from the Education Commission of the States Distribution Center, 700 Broadway, Suite 1200, Denver, CO 80203-3460,
303.299.3692, or can be downloaded from the ECS Web site at
www.ecs.org/TeacherCompensationReport.

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The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is an interstate compact created by the states, territories and the U.S. Congress that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. A nonpartisan organization, ECS was formed in 1965 and is located in Denver, Colorado.