Illumination | Spring 2008

Podgursky points out, however, that not all incentive plans pit individual teachers against each other. Some plans reward teams of teachers or whole schools, and some plans reward teachers based on their performance compared to some fixed standard so every participating teacher has the opportunity to earn the reward. But this, too, has a downside in that it can expose districts to financial pressures.

All this brings up a final problem for merit pay systems: If districts implement these plans, they may not be able to finish what they start.

"Teachers have learned there's a very good chance these systems won't last," says Herrington. "Something else comes along and takes the money." Adds Jackson: "You have to ask, 'Is this something we're going to be able to maintain for the long term?' If you can't, then it's not going to have any lasting effect on student achievement."

With so many variables to consider, policymakers, educators and administrators should not rush into an overhaul of the current system, Springer says. "We need to go slow and go small and evaluate big."

Herrington thinks so too, saying teacher compensation is only one piece, and perhaps not even a big piece, of what she calls the very large, very complex public education puzzle.

"It's dangerous to think one particular change will be strong enough to achieve the effect you're looking for," she says. "It's also dangerous to think that when you change one part of a system, it won't trigger another change that may dilute the desired change and introduce changes that are not desirable. We really don't know how these things work. I think policymakers should go slowly and carefully with them."

More experimentation is most certainly needed, Podgursky says, adding that there is already one groundbreaking experiment taking place in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Sponsored by the National Center on Performance Incentives, the Nashville study will evaluate, over a three-year period, the effects of a pay-for-performance trial involving 300 math teachers and their students.

Podgursky hopes more such investigations follow. With new longitudinal data sets from the states, he says, researchers will have the information they need to gain insight on improving achievement.

"But we need more school districts that are willing to innovate and experiment. There are some school districts that will take the lead. Many won't. For most, it will be business as usual. But some, if you give them the opportunity, they will push. Just like in any endeavor. Some will be the leaders. They'll break the ice and push forward."

Published by the Office of Research.