Pay for Performance Compensation Model Being Implemented in Pittsburgh Public Schools

President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are pushing education reform and the change is starting already.  One big piece of their educational agenda is to get states and districts to adopt a different pay scale.  It has been common practice in the field of education to pay teachers on a scale of seniority.  Teachers with the most seniority were paid more and teachers with advanced degrees also qualified for increased pay.  President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan believe that this system should be replaced by a pay scale they term pay-for-performance.  Under this compensation model, teachers would no longer receive increased pay for number of years worked or advanced degrees.  They would be routinely evaluated and rated on a district specific scale.  Their students’ performance and achievement would be monitored and the teacher would qualify for increased salary based in part on improved student performance on standardized assessments.  This performance pay model is beginning to work its way into districts across the nation.  One Pennsylvania school district in Pittsburgh has recently adopted contract terminology that will change the way their teachers are compensated.  The Pittsburgh Public School District and it’s affiliated teachers union have recently agreed on a five year contract that includes components of the performance pay model.  Teachers pay will increase based on periodic teacher evaluations and demonstration that the teacher was able to raise student achievement over time.  Teachers will no longer receive a “bump” on the pay scale for earning a n advanced degree such as a Master’s degree.  The new pay for performance pay scale will go into effect in the Pittsburgh Public School District starting July 1st 2010.

Author:  Camillo Zucari