MERIT PAY AND TEACHER

EVALUATION
D A N I E L C O L E , K AT Y E V E R S , A N A H I TA S H A R M A

OVERVIEW
Issues with teacher evaluation and salaries
Our proposal
Revision to OTES
Increased funding for districts using holistic
merit pay programs

How it solves issues

Call to action

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

CURRENT STRUCTURE
Current salary structure negotiated in each
district
Steps and lanes salary schedule
System rewards teachers who are
underperforming while punishing teachers
going extra mile for student
Current system provides no incentive for
teachers to grow and work on their craft as
a teacher

WHAT IS MERIT PAY?

Merit Pay attempts to solve current
problems
System rooted in incentive theory
Rewards teachers based on performance
Uses test results and observations to
evaluate teachers
Often supported by both major parties and
is a major aspect of Obamas Race to the
Top

PROBLEMS WITH MERIT PAY

Merit pay only benefits teachers of highperforming students
Extra testing involved
Can be impossible to involve art, music,
and PE teachers
Discourages collegiality and collaboration
Some teachers do not believe merit pay is
worth the extra work

OHIO TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM

OHIO TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM

Standardized system
Provides teachers with feedback
However, we believe OTES does not
accurately measure teacher performance
Heavily weighted on standardized tests
Often test scores are determined by
socioeconomic status

OTES ALTERNATIVE FRAMEWORK

OUR PROPOSAL

PROPOSAL
1. A revision to OTES
2. Promotion of Merit Pay System
Based on Denver ProComp

REVISED OTES MODEL WITH TEST

SCORES

Colleague Observation; 25%

Value Added; 25%

Student
Administrator
Learning Objectives;
Observation;
25% 25%

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES

A way to measure student learning
throughout the year
Agreed upon by the teacher and principal
Must be measurable
Currently used in the state of Ohio to evaluate
some teachers who teach classes without
value-added data

REVISED OTES MODEL WITH

PORTFOLIOS

Colleague Observation; 25%

Student Portfolio; 25%

Student
Administrator
Learning Objectives;
Observation;
25%25%

OUR MERIT PAY PLAN

Based off the Denver Professional
Compensation Plan for Teachers (ProComp)
In 2005, ProComp was funded by
taxpayers in a $25 million dollar levy
Teachers earn bonuses and raises through
a variety of ways, not strictly student test
scores
Ties OTES evaluation with merit pay
Important that each district negotiate their
own contract with unions

STUDENT GROWTH

More traditional merit pay program, basing bonuses

off of student performance on standardized test
scores
Student Learning Objectives same as the ones that
teachers will be evaluated by
Change in OTES allows all teachers to be eligible
Strives for excellence

MARKET INCENTIVES

Tries to get teachers in high-needs and hard to

staff areas
Most well received section of ProComp
Strives for equity

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Rewards teachers in salary increases for the

completion of professional development and
advanced degrees
Also a salary increase for a good evaluation

HOW DOES THIS SOLVE THE

PROBLEM?

OTES
Fairer framework for evaluating teachers
than the original framework
More accurate measure of teachers ability
Multiple observations from different people
Observations tied to salary
Chicago implemented Danielson framework
observations and saw large improvements in reading

Allows teachers to set their own goals for

evaluation
Empowers teachers

MERIT PAY
Solves the issue of bad teachers getting
automatic salary increases
Balanced approach that provides accountability
for teachers
Incentivizes teachers filling high-needs areas
All students regardless of race, language, income
deserve a great teacher
Larry Cuban Retention is a criteria for good
schools

Places equal importance on equity and

excellence

MERIT PAY
ProComp led to an effect on student
achievement
Minimal gains in mathematics and negative
effects on reading
So small that they are basically insignificant
However, teachers on ProComp scored on
average 11 to 14 points higher on Student
Growth Objectives than their colleagues on a
traditional pay scale

MERIT PAY
Even teachers who are struggling are
incentivized to get better
Salary increases for the completion of
professional development units
Good teachers get rewarded, ineffective
teachers rewarded for getting better
Teachers are not pitted against each other,
work together towards reaching student
growth goals

CALL TO ACTION
Make revisions to OTES
Promote merit pay plans in legislation
through increased funding
Every child has the right to a good
education
Merit pay is about getting good teachers
to the children that need them