What we know
- Idaho’s pay for performance system would add to the current salary schedule, not replace it.
- The plan is heavily weighted toward local needs and districts working to develop components with educators.
- The purpose of the pay-for-performance plan is to reward teachers for excellence and to give teachers more control over the amount of money they make each year.
- Currently, teachers are only paid based on the number of college credits they earn and the amount of years they teach.
- Teachers receive no differentiation for working in hard-to fill subject areas, taking on extra duties, or teaching in a school that produces growth in student achievement from year to year.
- The pay-for-performance plan has four parts: a state portion and local portion that will go into effect this coming school year; a hard-to fill portion and a leadership portion that will go into effect 2013.
- The state portion of the plan will be based on school-wide performance on the ISAT.
- All members of certificated staff in the school will receive a bonus if the school is eligible. To be eligible, the school must meet state academic goals by showing significant academic growth in a single school year or overall achievement gains in a single year.
- Certificated staff in a school will receive bonuses if the school-wide growth in student achievement on the ISAT over the year ranks in the top three quartiles of schools statewide, or if the overall school-wide achievement of students on the ISAT ranks in the top two quartiles of schools statewide, or both. Under this plan, the majority of the money will go toward schools demonstrating academic growth: 70 percent of the state portion of funding goes toward schools demonstrating growth and 30 percent goes toward schools demonstrating overall achievement.
- Under the local portion of the plan, school districts will set student achievement goals as determined at the local level.
- Districts will have the flexibility to decide what areas to focus on. For instance, districts could choose to measure certain grade levels, subject areas, or entire schools.
- The student achievement goals must be measurable. Examples include: state or district-level assessments, graduation rate, students successfully completing AP or dual credit courses, increasing student participation in extracurricular activities, and parental involvement.
- Certificated staff must earn a fraction of both the State (ISAT) and local measures to receive any of the money.
