New Directions in Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Compensation

1. New Directions in Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Compensation Second Annual CPRE National Conference Chicago, Illinois November 29-30, 2001 Sponsored in part by the Carnegie Corporation and Atlantic Philanthropic Services

2. Based on: Paying Teachers for What They Know and Do by Allan Odden and Carolyn Kelley Corwin Press, 2002, Second Edition CPRE Research & State/Local Policy Changes Further information, research and cases: www.wcer.wisc.edu/cpre

3. Eras coming to an end • The era of the traditional single salary schedule • The era of the traditional once-every-other-year observe-the-teacher approach to teacher evaluation

4. Examples of Pay Structure Changes • Initiatives to raise teacher salary levels • Incentives for National Board Certification • Pay for knowledge and skills • Higher salaries for teachers in shortage areas • Incentives for teachers in high poverty or low performing schools • School-based performance bonuses

5. More Examples of Pay Structure Changes … • Signing bonuses • Moving expenses and housing supplements • Retirement benefits and district rehire possibilities • Shift to pay for knowledge and skills recommended by NCTAF report • Milken Family TAP program • Some merit pay but few & they tend not to last

6. Evaluation Changes • Ability to conduct sound, valid and reliable performance evaluations: • National Board for Professional Teaching Standards • INTASC – Council of Chief State School Officers • Connecticut portfolio evaluations • PRAXIS III -- ETS • Framework for Teaching developed by Charlotte Danielson

7. Shift to Performance-Based Teacher Licensure • Two stage licensure procedure: • An initial license, which increasingly requires a test of content knowledge • Performance assessment to beginning teacher standards within first four years of teaching for professional or standard license • PRAXIS III in Ohio • Connecticut “portfolio” based system • State created performance assessments in North Carolina and Kentucky • INTASC in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, and several other states in development

8. Shift to performance-based teacher evaluation in districts • Shift to performance-based teacher evaluation in districts all over Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota and Connecticut – many using some version of Danielson’s Framework for Teaching • Iowa will require statewide • Connecticut moving its INTASC teacher licensure assessment into local evaluation systems so teachers will be evaluated to five different levels of classroom performance – aligns local evaluation process with system used for state licensure

9. Comments on Pay and Evaluation Innovations • Extensive – scope is breath taking • Greater variety than at any time in history • Except in a minor few instances, not merit pay • In most cases, have union and management support • Are vehicles for higher pay levels but not across the board • Are viable examples of “performance evaluation” and “performance pay” in education

10. Adopted by public school systems, charter schools and private schools • When done well, can contribute to a stronger teaching profession • As will be shown, support standards-based education reform • Match similar fundamental pay changes in the private sector • Have “staying power”

11. Why These Changes? • Some education systems just like to change and innovate – but that does not produce lasting change • Most are making these changes for strategic reasons

12. Strategic Understanding of Evaluation & Compensation Changes • As strategies to accomplish the goals of standards-based education reform -- greater student learning • Prime factor linked to improved learning is better instruction • So change evaluation and professional development systems to reinforce continued acquisition and deployment of standards-based instructional practices • Alter pay system to provide pay increases when teachers’ instructional practices improve to higher standards

13. Standards Based Education Reform • To teach more (most) students to high levels requires: • Quality teachers • Whose instructional expertise is first rate • And who not only believe students can learn to high levels but know how to instruct them so they do

14. So, to accomplish all these goals ... • A state, its districts and the teaching profession must identify what teachers need to know and be able to do -- teaching standards -- to educate students to state performance standards • This expertise, which expands and deepens over time, must become the vision for pre-service preparation, new teacher induction, licensure, ongoing development, & teacher evaluation -- i.e., the education HR system must be overhauled • Including a new compensation system

15. Strategic rationales, continued …. • As strategies to enhance teaching as a profession • Adopt clear and specific standards for teachers • Align professional development to those standards • Evaluate teachers for developing and teaching to the standards • Develops accountability for teachers to professional standards of practice • As a strategy to increase teacher salary levels • Link pay increases to improvements in teacher performance • Increase teacher pay levels to recruit and retain good teachers

16. Teacher Quality and Teacher Pay Levels Matter • Research (Sanders, Dallas, Minneapolis, CPRE) shows that low teacher quality produces declines in student achievement in both reading and math – 60 to 30 %ile • Same research shows high teacher quality produces increases in student achievement – 60 to 76 %ile • And teacher quality costs – low pay reduces teacher quality and higher pay increases teacher quality

17. Why a new evaluation system? • Traditional evaluation systems – an observation every 2-4 years • Are procedural rather than substantive • Have low validity and reliability • Rarely help to improve instruction • Lack standards and rubrics • Have little if any impact • Require substantial work with little return • Are disliked by teachers and administrators

18. Performance-Based Evaluations • Have professional teaching standards • Are more comprehensive and substantive, focus on district definition of “quality instruction” • Gather multiple forms of data over a 4-6 month process • Produce multiple levels of performance • Can be part of peer & administrative review • Can be linked to professional development • Can be linked to salary increases • Create professional accountability for teachers

19. Why teacher compensation? • The single salary schedule • Provides salaries to all teachers in a fair way, but • Is not strategically aligned with needed knowledge & skills continuum or current education goals • Education units and degrees at best indirectly focused on desired teacher knowledge and skills • Does not have a student achievement results element • Not a good structure for salary increases or recruiting and retaining teachers

20. A More Strategic Teacher Compensation System • Knowledge and skills based pay • pay increases for demonstrated improvements in knowledge, skills and expertise needed to improve student achievement • School-based performance awards • bonuses for all faculty/staff in a school that meets pre-set performance improvement targets • Neither are individual merit pay • Salary benchmarks adequate to recruit & retain

21. What is Needed for Knowledge and Skills Based Pay • Identification of what good teaching is, the knowledge and skills to do it, or teaching standards linked to student standards and teacher career stages • A professional development strategy to help teachers acquire and deploy that instruction • Assessments of knowledge and skills -- how to assess and who should do it • Linkage to a salary schedule

22. What is Needed for School-Based Performance Awards • Measures of student performance • Calculations of change in performance • Stretch buy reachable change targets • Enabling conditions, including KSBP • Valued rewards – bonus levels in the $1000-$3000 per teacher range • Predictable funding

23. What New Practices Do We Have? • Performance bonuses based on increases in student academic achievement: • Vaughn Charter School • Cincinnati • Colonial, PA • Value-added assessments • Bill Sanders Keynote • Breakout sessions • Denver

24. What New Practices Do We Have? • Knowledge and skills-base pay: • Vaughn Charter School • Cincinnati • Philadelphia • Iowa • Coventry, RI • Douglas County, CO • Milken TAP program

25. What New Practices Do We Have? • Performance-based evaluations: • National Board for Professional Teaching Standards • Miami Performance Evaluation System • Adaptation of Framework for Teaching: • Charlotte Danielson keynote • Washoe County (NV) • Vaughn Charter School • Cincinnati • Philadelphia • Maybe Iowa

26. Behavioral Levels of Performance 1. Beginning teacher -- entry level 2. Novice -- effective teaching and classroom management 3. Developing Professional – beginning content specific teaching (either #2 or #3 would be professional license/tenure) 4. Professional -- solid array of professional expertise including mastery of content specific teaching 5. Advanced -- assessment & instructional design A national one: National Board Certified

27. Two Major Approaches to KSBP Plans • Redesign the entire salary schedule to include knowledge and skills as a core element that triggers major salary increases • Keep current steps and lanes structure and add knowledge and skill elements

28. Full KSBP Model

29. An Add-On Approach

30. Salary Benchmarking Needed • Both approaches need salary benchmarking – public sector and the top paying suburbs – to identify salary levels needed – especially in urban districts –to compete for talent in the labor market • Both structure of teacher pay – knowledge and skills, with a school-based performance bonus – and level of pay must change to recruit and retain high quality teachers

31. Additional Knowledge and Skills • For permanent pay increases: • License in a second subject • License in a shortage area -- mathematics, science, technology, high poverty school • Masters in area of license, or just content area • Expertise for a comprehensive school design • For one time payments, e.g. • computer software, district provided pd classes, • For leadership roles • lead teacher, curriculum council chair, peer assessor, school mentor/coach/instructional facilitator

32. Fiscal Advantage of New Pay Systems • Popular with the public and policymakers as vehicles to add money to the teacher salary budget: • Connecticut – school finance system changed to hike teacher salary levels • Arizona – initiative to raise taxes: $150 million • Iowa – up to $250 million over 3-4 years • Wisconsin – money above the QEO of 3.8% • Cincinnati & Jefferson County (CO)– approval of referendum levy • States – new money for National Board incentives • Most districts – SBPA and KSBP get new dollars

33. Key Strategic Characteristics • Evaluation and compensation structure reinforce state, district & school education reform goals • Advancement across categories depends on better instruction -- increased professional expertise • Salary capped if professional expertise does not improve • Aligns pre-service, evaluation and license standards, assessments/evaluation and compensation • Links compensation to teacher quality

34. Why this broader approach? • Systemic & focuses on improving instruction -- the key to having all kids achieve to high standards • Addresses huge arena between beginning teachers (licensure) and National Board Certification • Integrates all elements of HR system -- pre-service, licensure, recruitment, selection, induction, development, evaluation and compensation -- around effective instruction • Improves teacher evaluation -- a huge plus • Including pay makes entire effort real and serious and pay levels matter in recruiting talent

35. And …... • This salary structure also can help recruit large numbers of new teachers -- it allows for quicker movement up the salary schedule and also offers higher salaries for the best teachers -- so is attractive to Generation Y • This kind of a new salary structure is an attractive vehicle for raising overall teacher salary levels