The issue of merit and incentive pay for educators has champions and critics among educators and policymakers. Proponents cite the need to increase pay for effective teachers who improve student achievement and the need to get the best, most effective educators into high-need districts. Critics cite concerns such as a breakdown in cooperation at the building level predicated upon differentiated pay and the loss of the team approach to education. They express concerns about awarding bonuses based on a single test score, which could potentially lead teachers to teach to the test, as well as concerns about the evaluation process and the procedure for determining educator rewards.

ASCD supports the concept of merit and incentive pay and believes that local school districts should have this option to attract the best and brightest educators. We believe schools should have the support and resources to pay incentives or bonuses to educators who increase student achievement or teach in high-poverty, high-need districts.

However, ASCD supports the concept as a locally determined decision that involves all stakeholders in the development and implementation of the incentive program. Most important, ASCD believes that the overarching goal for any incentive program must be a focus on the education of the whole child.

Although incentives and pay alone will not keep educators in the classroom, this issue of Infobrief addresses several questions regarding the use of such options in education: Do merit and incentive pay programs lead to increased student achievement? Is there a causal relationship? What do the critics say about these programs? What are some effective measurement tools or reviews that provide an accurate evaluation for educators to receive bonuses? How can these programs help get the best educators in front of the neediest students?

This Infobrief includes information about several large merit and incentive pay programs, as well as some of the funding sources that support them. Throughout this issue, you will find examples of various programs that are being implemented. Although the programs vary considerably in structure and application, most of their compensation plans provide incentives based on one or more of the following: pay for performance, pay for the attainment of knowledge and skills, and pay for filling positions in hard-to-staff schools.