Public school teachers retire much earlier than comparable professionals. Pension rule changes affecting new teachers can be used to close this gap in the long run, but any effects will not be observed for decades and the implications for workforce quality are unclear. This paper considers targeted incentive policies designed to deter retirement…

A vast research literature is devoted to analyzing causes of and potential remedies for early-career teacher attrition. However, much less attention has been paid to late-career attrition among experienced teachers, which is driven primarily by retirement plan incentives. Although there is some variation across states, it is generally the case…

If a rational system of teacher compensation, aimed at recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers, were designed from scratch, it is unlikely it would bear any resemblance to the system that is currently in place. In this paper, the author takes a deep look into how the method of paying teachers evolved. He shows that compensation systems have…

It is widely recognized that teacher quality is the central input in school performance. This insight has put human resource and compensation policies, including performance pay, tenure, alternative route recruitment, and mentoring, at center stage in school reform debates. Some school administrators have been innovators and reform leaders in…

The ongoing global financial crisis is forcing many employers, from General Motors to local general stores, to take a hard look at the costs of the compensation packages they offer employees. For public school systems, this will entail a consideration of fringe benefit costs, which in recent years have become an increasingly important component of…

Review of public school compensation policies and comparison of teacher salaries with those of other white-collar workers found that public schools spend the same percentage of wage-rewarding seniority as other employers. A steeper wage-tenure profile reduces turnover, but turnover costs are likely not high enough to make this an optimal use of…

Modern personnel economics emphasizes the importance of strategic, integrated compensation policy in an organization. In this paper I review key features of the compensation system for public school teachers. The rigidities and inefficiencies that arise from single salary schedules and other features of the compensation regime, and their…

In response to a journalist inquiry regarding research on funding of Ohio's teacher retirement system and its effect on school district finances, this analysis by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute points to serious questions and profound concerns about the health of Ohio's teacher pension system, and that similar time bombs may be ticking in other…

This paper examines the pattern of incentives for work versus retirement in five state teacher pension systems. We do this by examining the annual accrual of pension wealth from an additional year of work over a teacher's career. Accrual of wealth is highly nonlinear and heavily loaded at arbitrary years that would normally be considered…

In this article we examine the economic case for merit or performance-based pay for K-12 teachers. We review several areas of germane research. The direct evaluation literature on these incentive plans is slender; highly diverse in terms of methodology, targeted populations, and programs evaluated; and primarily focused on short-run motivational…

According to data from the 1987-88 Schools and Staffing Survey (56,000 public and 1,500 private school teachers), those in districts with merit pay are not demoralized or hostile toward it. Teachers of disadvantaged and low achieving students support it. Private school teachers favor it more than public school teachers do. (SK)

Salaries and benefits for instruction are the largest component of school operating costs for public schools (U.S. Department of Education 2007). The level and structure of this compensation can play an important role in the recruitment and retention of a high-quality teaching workforce. Thus, detailed and reliable data on teacher pay and benefits…

Uses statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine teacher salaries and benefits. Discusses compensation of teachers compared with nonteachers. Asserts that statistics from the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association underestimate teacher compensation…

Using Scholastic Aptitude Test scores as a measure of ability, across-the-board raises in teacher salaries produce only a modest improvement in attracting more able teachers. Such raises tend to encourage teachers of every type to stay longer and lowers the probability of hiring new entrants with high ability. (SK)

This paper analyzes the current and historical criticism of performance-based compensation in K-12 education. It claims that new compensation methods are feasible and are necessary in order to attract and retain the best and the brightest into the teaching profession. The document outlines the objections to performance-based compensation, which in…