Performance-Based Rewards for Teachers

A number of recent reports have suggested that the lack of financial recognition of teaching performance is a likely contributor to teachers leaving the profession.  With few countries currently linking teachers’ rewards to reviewed performance and evidence of ongoing professional development, the success of existing performance-based rewards schemes could have implications for future teacher pay structures both in Australia and overseas.

The DEST report, Performance-based rewards for teachers, provides a general overview of performance-based pay for teachers and briefly examines a range of different schemes.  The paper identifies three main types of performance pay: ‘Merit Pay’, ‘Knowledge and Skills Based Pay’ and ‘School-based compensation’.  The research also makes evident a number of conditions that appear necessary for effective performance systems.

The report examines the following performance-based pay schemes:

• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification (USA);
• Performance Threshold (UK);
• Rank Order Tournament (Israel);
• Denver Public Schools Pro Comp (USA);
• Teacher Advancement Program (USA);
• Douglas County compensation plan (USA);
• Special Teachers Are Rewarded (USA);
• National Teaching Career Program (Mexico); and
• Edu-Pac and EPMS (Singapore).