Teachers eye Denver's pay incentive plan

Is it effective to link teacher pay incentives to how their students perform?

Local and national school officials will be watching a two-year pilot program in Denver to find out.

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association recently approved a new contract that includes a pay-for-performance plan, Becky Wissink, union vice president, said.

Under the plan, teachers receive $500 for participating plus $1,000 if most of their students improve. This means teachers can earn an extra $3,000 over two years, Wissink said.

The program is expected to cost about $3 million.

George Ann Rice, Clark County Schools assistant superintendent for personnel, was doubtful the concept would fly here. For starters, high student turnover would make it difficult to track.

"In some classes we have 100 percent student turnover during the year," she said. "Which students' performance would we measure?"

She also said basing pay incentives solely on student performance isn't fair, because teachers can't control everything that affects students' education.

"It's not just the teachers interacting with the kids," Rice said. "It's their home environment and what's happening in their lives. I think the teachers realize this, too."

But she will be watching Denver's program.

"I'm going to keep an eye on it," said Rice. "I'm very interested in the results."

Any changes involving teacher pay incentives would require approval by the Clark County Classroom Teachers Association, she added.

National Education Association President Robert Chase also is taking a wait-and-see approach. He called Denver's plan "smart" but questioned whether it would work in other districts.

"I think it would be a mistake if a lot of school districts try to replicate it," he said. "We need to give it some time. After two years we'll know whether or not it has had the intended effect of improving student performance."

Skip Wenda, administrator for Nevada Department of Education's southern office, said he believes there are better ways to beef up student performance. He pointed to new Nevada education standards and four new teacher professional development centers created by the state Legislature as examples.

Wenda also believes better training through mentor programs and colleges can boost teacher performance.

Money doesn't always mean improvements, he said.

"I think wherever there is a dollar incentive, you have people doing things just for dollars," Wenda said.

Denver administrators are in the process of selecting three groups to participate in the program. Each group will include four elementary schools and one middle school, Wissink said. Eighty-five percent of each of the participating schools' staffers must approve the pilot program before it can be put in place.

Three different measurements of student improvement will be used: The Iowa Test of Basic Skills, tests and classroom work. Officials will take a special look at classrooms with teachers who have taken development courses to improve their skills, Wissink said.

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