State Teacher Policy Database Homepage › National Overview › Policy Priority: Teacher Compensation

Performance Pay

States have an opportunity to influence new types of salary structures and how performance may be considered in determining salaries.

Data updated: September 2022

Go to a policy lever Differentiated Pay for Hard-to-Staff Schools and Subjects Performance Pay Pay for Prior Work Experience
Select a state Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Why focus on Performance Pay to improve Teacher Compensation?

Research demonstrates that performance-based teacher compensation is linked to improved student outcomes.1 Performance pay can be particularly effective in schools that struggle to retain qualified teachers. By rewarding high-performing educators, these schools incentivize top talent to stay, leading to improved student achievement.

State performance on Performance Pay for Teacher Compensation

Most states fail to fully use their power to influence teacher pay factors, leaving districts to fall back on the use of archaic step and lane structures that prioritize experience and degrees rather than performance, despite evidence that degrees make little difference in student achievement.

NCTQ evaluates whether states are effectively using this policy lever by examining whether they require the use of performance when determining a teacher’s salary and whether they incentivize districts to incorporate performance into teacher pay.  Explore the key actions below to learn more about how each state is implementing policies to improve Teacher Compensation. (NCTQ does not currently assign rankings to states for this policy area.)

Who stands out?

Texas
Florida

What are the key actions states should take?

    • Key Resources

    State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies

    Explore NCTQ’s detailed state analysis of teacher compensation strategies.

    Explore resource

    Smart Money 2.0

    Uncover teachers' salaries across 90 districts nationwide, learn about strategies to increase pay, and discover missed opportunities for raising compensation and improving outcomes.

    Explore resource

    More districts are paying teaches strategically to meet critical needs. Is yours?

    Learn more about how some districts are implementing differentiated compensation to fill critical gaps and improve student learning.

    Explore resource

    What are the long term effects of teacher performance pay on student outcomes?

    Read more about the research behind teacher performance pay.

    Explore resource
    References
    1. The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 87, Issue 5, October 2020, Pages 2322–2355, https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdaa002
    2. Ladd, H. F., & Sorensen, L. C. (2017). Returns to teacher experience: Student achievement and motivation in middle school. Education Finance and Policy, 12(2), 241-279; Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica, 73(2), 417-458; Harris, D. N., & Sass, T. R. (2011). Teacher training, teacher quality and student achievement. Journal of Public Economics, 95(7-8), 798-812.