Teacher Incentive Pay Programs in the United States: Union Influence and District Characteristics

• Main Authors: Guodong Liang, Ying Zhang, Haigen Huang, Zhaogang Qiao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Simon Fraser University 2015-06-01
• Series: International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership
• Online Access: http://journals.sfu.ca/ijepl/index.php/ijepl/article/download/491/147

This study examined the characteristics of teacher incentive pay programs in the United States. Using the 2007–08 SASS data set, it found an inverse relationship between union influence and districts’ incentive pay offerings. Large and ethnically diverse districts in urban areas that did not meet the requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress as defined under the No Child Left Behind Act are more likely to offer a larger number of economic incentives. Although rural districts are likely to reward teachers in hard-to-staff schools, they are not more likely to reward teachers who are certified by the National Board or who teach in the subject areas of shortage, nor are they more likely to offer multiple financial incentives.