Can awarding bonuses to high-performing teachers and principals boost student achievement? Offering pay-for-performance bonuses was a central component of a U.S. Department of Education program designed to help school districts improve their practices and performance.
Did this bonus program work? Take this quick quiz to find out what we’ve learned.
Here’s the background: In 2010, the Department of Education awarded grants from the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) to help school districts reform their systems for evaluating and compensating teachers and principals. TIF districts were required to evaluate educators based on student achievement growth and observations of their practices, help educators identify ways to improve their practices, and reward high-performing educators.
This quiz focuses on 10 TIF districts that had implemented their programs for three years and participated in a national evaluation of the pay-for-performance component of the programs. Mathematica Policy Research conducted the evaluation and developed this interactive quiz. Take it now to learn how districts structured these bonuses, how well they explained them to educators, and whether the bonuses improved student learning. Then read our new study snapshot and full report for more details.
