Fiscal Federalism, Performance Policies, and Education Reforms: Are States Using Performance Policies to Improve Workforce Quality?

Abstract

Performance policies aim to use provisions such as competitive recruitment packages, performance pay, outcome-based tenure decisions, and sanction to enhance the quality of the public sector workforce. Federal Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind policies have promoted the adoption of such principles among the states by linking funding to their implementation. While all 50 states have developed performance policies, the policies vary in strength and rigor. This research uses fiscal federalism and other state characteristics to assess factors affecting commitment to performance workforce development policies among the states. It finds that state need and commitment to federal initiatives influence the strength of voluntary state performance policies. It also finds that performance workforce development policies influence the dismissal of underperforming educators and the retention of highly qualified employees. However, a negative relationship is reported between policy strength and the retention of highly qualified teachers.

Attempts at Educational Equity: An Analysis of the Implementation and Impact of the No Child Left Behind—Based on Walfare Economics

“…The NCLB Act has strict rules on teacher standards: it requires all 50 states to establish performance systems and set performance goals to improve the quality of teachers through evaluations, rewards, teacher dismissals and school sanctions. As a result, teachers are facing unprecedented pressure (Patrick, 2012). However, teachers' salaries have not increased as a result of the increased workload, which may cause some good teachers not to want to teach in public schools.…”

From NCLB to ESSA: Implications for Teacher Preparation and Policy

“…The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) as the NCLB in 2001 ushered in a period of the most expanded federal involvement in teacher training, evaluation, and licensure since the beginning of special education as a profession. NCLB required all 50 states to develop performance systems to improve the quality of the teaching force through elements such as performance goals, evaluations, rewards, teacher dismissals, and school sanctions (Patrick, 2012) and created a new term: “highly qualified teacher” (HQT). The intent was to guide initial and continuing teacher licensure at the state level.…”

A case study of the perception and use of student feedback in a Massachusetts K-12 public school

“…Race to the Top incentives quickly altered the traditional description of effective teaching and led to a wide disparity in teacher evaluations even within individual states. Functional factors, like the strength of a state's teacher union, directly impacted the degree to which evaluation systems were tied to student achievement data (Patrick, 2012).…”