How can a bonus program affect the performance of teachers in classrooms? This paper collected data from teachers employed in Brazilian state-run schools to examine the key mechanisms through which a teacher bonus scheme can have a causal effect on the academic achievements of students. Using mixed-methods research and data triangulation from…

The Chinese province of Shanghai has gained international recognition as a high performing education system with strong teaching and learning outcomes. One accountability mechanism in Shanghai's education reform strategy is statewide performance-based compensation (PBC), also known as performance- or merit pay. Providing a first time account of…

Teachers matter--and some matter more than others. That recognition has driven a tidal wave of controversial policy reforms over the past decade, rooted in new evaluation systems that link teachers' ratings and, in some cases, their pay and advancement to evidence of classroom practice and student learning. Two out of three U.S. states overhauled…

States are increasingly interested in including measures of student achievement growth, or "value- added," in evaluating teachers. Annual state assessments, however, which are the typical measure of student growth, usually cover only reading and math teachers and only in grades 4-8. These state assessments thus cannot …

States and school districts are exploring alternatives to state tests for measuring teachers' contributions to student learning. One approach applies statistical value-added methods to alternative student assessments such as commercially available tests and end-of course tests. The evidence suggests that these methods can reliably distinguish…

In 2007, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began implementing a schoolwide reform called the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) using funds from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and private foundations. Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and responsibilities through promotion to mentor or master teacher as well as annual…