Overview

More than 20 states and many school districts are currently implementing or considering performance pay plans for teachers. Most of the existing plans are not working. Schools are not improving, teachers and parents are upset, students are being denied the education they deserve, and tax dollars are being wasted - either because the plans are built on faulty assumptions, because they are being implemented poorly, or both. Most policy-makers have not considered the history and past practice of performance pay, have not developed a broad definition of performance around which to build their plans, and don't understand how to implement organizational change. The Peril and Promise of Performance Pay is the first comprehensive look at the history, assumptions, and recent experience with performance pay for teachers. It provides an invaluable resource for school teachers, administrators, board members, policy makers, and citizens who would like to understand what's behind performance pay, what might work and what will not, and how to build a school improvement effort that includes teacher compensation as one of its strategies.

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9781607090106

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Reviews

Performance pay is a major concern in education. Policy-makers and practitioners will see the issues from a clearer and more comprehensive perspective as a result of reading The Peril and Promise of Performance Pay. It provides an analysis of the pay for performance process and a detailed examination of factors that can undermine assessments of educator effectiveness in pay for performance plans. -- Peter J. Dittami, retired elementary school principal (30+ years) and visiting assistant professor of education at Framingham State College. Differing markedly from the ideologues and economists who are increasingly dominating the discussion of performance pay, Don Gratz provides a breath of fresh air. As both a practitioner and researcher, he has a deep understanding of the cornerstones of effective performance pay and how this reform involves a fundamental shift in how we approach school improvement. In examining the current substance and historical roots of these issues, Gratz shows that the conventional wisdom of educational reform is often more conventional than wise. This book is a critical read. -- William J. Slotnik, executive director, Community Training and Assistance Center, Boston, Massachusetts The book is engaging and informative...It provides insights, perspectives, and understanding necessary for effectively reforming schools-the schools that help our children grow, develop, and avoid becoming victims of illusionary snares laid by the media, popular culture, and corporations that do not value social responsibility, but deceive and misrepresent the truth. -- Warren Hodge, associate professor of educational leadership, University of North Florida * Teachers College Record * Teachers want to do their best for their students. They're interested in being accountable, but they need to be engaged in determining what performance is, how it will be measured, and how collaboration among colleagues is acknowledged. This book is really about much more than performance pay. It's about what we value for children in our schools and how we view the contributions of all educators within a school community. Teachers will find it both enjoyable and provocative. -- Kathleen J. Skinner, director, Center for Education Policy & Practice of the Massachusetts Teachers Association

Teachers want to do their best for their students. They re interested in being accountable, but they need to be engaged in determining what performance is, how it will be measured, and how collaboration among colleagues is acknowledged. This book is really about much more than performance pay. It 's about what we value for children in our schools and how we view the contributions of all educators within a school community. Teachers will find it both enjoyable and provocative.--Kathleen J. Skinner

Author Information

Donald B. Gratz is a professor, department chair, and graduate director in education at Curry College outside of Boston.

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