Diversifying Teacher Compensation. Issue Paper

This issue paper builds on an earlier ECS publication that reviewed five leading pay-for-performance models or proposals at the time titled, Pay-for-Performance: Key Questions and Lessons from Five Current Models (2001). The Education Commission of the States and The Teaching Commission have joined together on this issue paper to provide: (1) An overview of the research on compensation systems that have ventured beyond the single salary schedule; (2) Some of the key findings about such a shift from both researchers and practitioners; (3) Key questions that have been gleaned from previous experiences; (4) An overview of some recent attempts to diversify teacher pay, both at the incremental and sweeping level; and (5) A comparison and detailed summaries of four leading programs and proposals at the district and school levels. Appended are: (1) Summaries of Four District and School Programs; (2) Governors' Current Teacher Compensation Initiatives; (3) Updates from 2001 Paper; and (4) Bibliography.