Texas's Performance
Ungraded
Why does this matter?
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.
Why does Texas stand out?
Texas explicitly requires districts to consider teacher performance and has a statewide initiative supporting performance pay.
Texas currently leads the way in terms of performance pay structures, by providing both funds and support to districts to develop systems and reward teachers, including supporting more objective teacher evaluations with validation by an outside party. In 2019, the Texas legislature passed House Bill 3, which includes the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), designed to incentivize great teachers to stay in the classroom. The TIA provides between $3,000 and $32,000 per year per “identified” teacher based on teacher performance, and other characteristics, such as high-need areas, rural district campuses, and student population characteristics. Districts may identify teachers using their local criteria, and submit their criteria to the state for approval. At least 90% of these state-provided funds must be spent on teacher compensation. Texas districts are also required to report to the state education agency on the use of these funds and salary increases. In the 2020-21 school year, 4,617 teachers received a designation for which they were paid out over $43 million across 127 school districts.
What are the key actions Texas
should take?
See what these exemplars are doing in this policy area:
Key Resources
State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies
Explore NCTQ’s detailed state analysis of teacher compensation strategies.
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.
References
- The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 87, Issue 5, October 2020, Pages 2322–2355, https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdaa002
- 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.