Compensation Reform and the Federal Teacher Incentive Fund (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Jan. 3, 2011 |
| Report Number |
R40576 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Jeffrey J. Kuenzi, Specialist in Education Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Congress has historically recognized the importance of teacher quality in improving the academic performance of elementary and secondary school students; however, federal policy has only recently begun to address the impact of teacher compensation systems on both quality and performance. Growing concern about the dominant feature of these systemsâthe single salary scheduleâhas led to a variety of compensation reform efforts around the country. These efforts include pay-for-performance incentives that attempt to align teacher compensation more closely with student achievement, as well as other reforms that link increased pay to improved teacher competency or to service in hard-to-staff positions.
Congress provided significant support to several existing compensation reform efforts by enacting the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) through the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-149). The concise passage that provides program authority for TIF states that funds are intended to "develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems in high-need schools." Little additional guidance has been provided with respect to how these reforms are to be implemented.
Subsequent congressional action to extend the TIF has left the authorizing language largely unchanged. Prior to the TIF, federal education policy had not significantly addressed the nature of teacher compensation. Nevertheless, significant amounts of funding from several federal programs support the salaries of specific kinds of teachers, including teachers and paraprofessionals serving educationally disadvantaged students, newly hired teachers, and special education teachers.
As Congress moves to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), proposals to leverage federal education spending to reform teacher compensation systems may receive serious consideration. Beyond recent increases in TIF appropriations through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5) and the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-8), Congress may also consider altering and expanding the federal role in this area. Some proposals that would make changes to the federal effort in this area received attention in recent congressional sessions. These include a discussion draft for ESEA reauthorization circulated by the leadership of the House Education and Labor Committee as well as legislation to create Innovation Districts as part of the Obama Administration's education agenda.
This report is intended to discuss a variety of issues that relate to compensation reform and the proposals Congress may consider during ESEA reauthorization. The report provides background on the teacher pay system, discusses the basic elements of compensation reform, and describes several reform efforts that are currently underway around the country. The report concludes with a discussion of recent legislative action and issues for ESEA reauthorization.
