Issues and Case Studies in Teacher Incentive Plans

Teacher Compensation and Teacher Workforce Development

“…Merit pay programs are typically defined as providing rewards to individual teachers for outstanding performance. Several studies have sought to understand why merit pay programs are rarely institutionalized (Educational Research Service, 1978;Hatry, Greiner, & Ashford, 1994;Jacobson, 1987;Johnson, 1986;Murnane & Cohen, 1986). Nearly all have reached the same conclusions:…”

“…Cornett (1994) found that in Arizona, among students taught by teachers in the career ladder program, achievement increased, dropout rates declined, and graduation rates increased. Despite these successes, career ladder programs tend to be short-lived, and most of the programs established in the 1980s were phased out by the mid-1990s (Hatry, Greiner, & Ashford, 1994). One explanation for the lack of long-term commitment to career ladder programs is that the programs tend to be costly.…”