Oklahoma Could Become 'Teacher Pay Model'

Oklahoma has a unique opportunity to become a national model for teacher performance pay, lawmakers were told by a national expert during the House’s final hearing on the topic at the Capitol on Tuesday.

The hearing was the last in a series that Speaker Lance Cargill and the House Education Committee held to give lawmakers adequate information to construct a performance pay plan before the legislative session begins in February.

Since statehood, Oklahoma has predominately used a single-salary pay system for teachers, basing salary on years of experience and educational degrees. But Matthew Springer, Research Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education and Director of the National Center on Performance Incentives, said “we know that the existing teacher compensation system is ineffective” and that “there is virtually no link” between a single-salary system and student achievement.

Evidence suggests performance and incentive pay plans do result in improved student performance, Springer said. The National Center on Performance Incentives featured the top nine quantitative studies of teacher incentive programs available in the field in a working paper titled, “Teacher Performance Pay: A Review.” Of the nine studies featured, seven were found to yield positive student achievement effects and two generated mixed results.

Springer told lawmakers that although the U.S. outspends most other industrialized nations on education, it ranks near the bottom in student performance. The data compared cumulative scores in math, literacy and science. “Most would say that we do not have a very productive educational system,” he said.

Springer also said that Oklahoma is in a position to be a national leader and model for teacher compensation through a quality performance based plan.

"The old ways of doing things in education just aren’t good enough,” said Cargill, R-Harrah. “We’ve done a one-size-fits-all approach to teacher pay in Oklahoma for the past 100 years. Now we need to start rewarding excellence and providing incentives for success. “Clearly, this is a very complex issue. But for me, fundamentally it’s about what we can do to equip every Oklahoma child with the best chance for success.”

“Performance pay for educators can produce a better education for our kids and that’s what this whole debate should be about,” said Education Committee Chairman Tad Jones, R-Claremore.

Committee members also heard from Steve Kimball, a researcher from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and Jason Culbertson, program director of South Carolina’s Teacher Advancement Program (TAP).

Also during the hearing, several parents testified about their experiences with both good and bad teachers and asserted that great teachers deserve extra recognition.

Mary Boren, a parent from Norman, proposed that teachers be evaluated by parents, something that is already being done in other parts of the country. She suggested that the results be used by school districts in the teacher rehiring process.

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