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Results Mixed in First Year of Texas' Teacher Merit Pay Plan

Posted on: Friday, 29 February 2008, 03:00 CST

AUSTIN -- The first year of Texas' $100 million experiment in school reform -- involving an estimated 52,000 teachers in the largest merit pay plan in the nation -- produced mixed results and didn't motivate most teachers to change their classroom techniques.

An independent study funded by the state showed that the Texas Educator Excellence Grant program drew a favorable response from teachers in the 1,148 schools where bonuses were awarded, but the study also said massive turnover of schools in the plan each year will make it difficult to achieve success over the long haul.

In addition, according to researchers, school districts gave bonuses far less than the $3,000 to $10,000 range recommended by the Legislature. Trying to spread the money among more teachers, districts gave average maximum bonuses of $2,263.

Hundreds of campuses in North Texas are participating in the program, including 90 in the Dallas school district this year. The plan was created under the school finance reform law passed by the Legislature in 2006.

The 161-page study on the merit pay program was conducted by the National Center on Performance Incentives under a contract with the Texas Education Agency. Researchers who worked on the study were from Vanderbilt University, the University of Missouri and the RAND Corp., a nonprofit think tank.

State education officials said Thursday they were pleased with the first year of the grant program and the findings of the study, though they are implementing changes to address some of the shortcomings identified. Teacher leaders, on the other hand, said the study affirms problems that they predicted would befall the program.

"We think the program is accomplishing what the Legislature intended," said Jerel Booker, TEA director of education initiatives and performance.

"One of the primary goals was to retain good teachers in our schools, and at least 70 percent of these teachers said they have a strong desire to participate in the program."

Mr. Booker said teacher retention is particularly important for the 1,148 schools that were in the plan last year because all serve a large percentage of economically disadvantaged children -- one of the requirements for eligibility.

Richard Kouri of the Texas State Teachers Association said the study highlights problems that hampered previous efforts to set up merit pay for public school teachers. The association and other teacher organizations have opposed the state's merit pay plan, contending all teachers should get raises because salaries in Texas are low compared with other states.

Pointing to one finding that 85 percent of the teachers in the program said it did not affect their work in the classroom, Mr. Kouri said: "What did the $100 million accomplish? These teachers were already doing a good job."

He also cited a major flaw in the program that was identified by the study, that 60 percent of the schools in the program last year were dropped from the plan this year because they failed to meet performance and demographic targets.

"The way it is designed now, a majority of teachers can't count on merit pay being available at their schools for more than one year," he said.

The high turnover of schools in the program, according to the study, "can weaken the incentives by lowering the probability of a teacher's school being eligible for [the grant program] in multiple years."

In addition, teachers may be discouraged from adopting new teaching approaches -- which require investments of time and training -- if they believe their school's program will be gone after one year, researchers noted.

Mr. Booker said one of the reasons for the high turnover of schools is the limited amount of funding in the program, which provides only enough money for about 1,100 schools a year. He said the situation should be eased somewhat when the state kicks off a second incentive pay plan -- open to all public schools -- next year.

State grants in the Texas Educator Excellence Grant program are targeted at schools with a high percentage of low-income students. To qualify, schools also have to earn a performance rating of "exemplary" or "recognized" -- the top two grades in the state's accountability system -- or rank in the top quarter of schools in math or reading improvements on the state's standardized test, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.

Each school must develop a plan for distributing the bonuses, subject to approval by the Texas Education Agency. Teachers are supposed to be involved in formulating the plans, which in most schools last year were based on student performance, teacher collaboration and teacher initiative.

In the Dallas school district, 90 campuses were invited into the program this year -- 12 more schools than last year. In all, those schools will receive about $9.5 million for incentive pay, including $300,000 for Skyline High School -- the largest grant of any campus in the district.

On the positive side, a survey of teachers in the program found fairly broad support for performance incentives in general and for the Texas Educator Excellence Grant program specifically.

Researchers also said that "many of the reservations against performance incentives were not realized" in the Texas program, including critics' predictions that merit pay would lead to less teacher collaboration and diminished instruction.

"Most teachers responded favorably to their school's [grant] program and also indicated generally positive relations with colleagues and between teachers and students," the study said.

Mr. Booker of the TEA said school districts are being encouraged this year to target the money to their highest performing teachers rather than spreading it out with small bonuses for a large number of teachers.

Student test scores at the schools were not evaluated by researchers but will be next year, according to state officials.

Among other districts in the Dallas area with a large number of schools that were tapped to participate this year are Fort Worth (25 schools), Arlington (19), Richardson (13) and three districts with seven schools each -- Garland, Grand Prairie and Irving. Mesquite has four schools on the list, and three other districts have three each -- Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Duncanville and Lewisville.

Key findings of teacher merit pay study

-- Teachers at 1,148 Texas schools in the program were generally supportive, and 70 percent had a "strong desire" to earn a bonus.

-- An overwhelming majority -- 85 percent -- said they were teaching the same way they were before the $100 million plan was implemented in the 2006-07 school year.

-- School districts spread out their funds from the state to cover more teachers, giving average maximum bonuses of $2,263 -- less than the $3,000 to $10,000 per teacher suggested by the Legislature.

-- Nearly 60 percent of teachers in the program said it did a good job of distinguishing effective teachers from ineffective teachers at their school.

-- Turnover of schools in the program -- about 60 percent were dropped after last year for failing to meet benchmarks -- could harm the prospects for long-range success as a majority of teachers see their bonuses cut off after one year.

SOURCE: National Center on Performance Incentives

Source: The Dallas Morning News

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