| dc.description.abstract |
The purpose of this study was to determine if performance pay for teachers had aneffect on student achievement in Communication Arts grades four through six. In orderto earn performance pay teachers were asked to participate in additional professionallearning, increase teacher attendance, decrease student discipline, and increase parentengagement. The study also examined the effect of teacher type on the relationshipbetween student achievement and each of these behaviors.A quantitative research design was used to evaluate to what extent performancepay influences student achievement. The population and sample included teachers ingrades four through six. The sample included 55 teachers from 10 elementary schools inthe Kansas City Public Schools. The dependent variable was student achievement. Theindependent variables were teacher participation in 20 additional hours of professionallearning, increased teacher attendance, a decrease in student discipline incidents, andincrease in parent engagement activities. These were investigated by teacher type(tenured, non-tenured, and TFAs).Findings indicated that overall the correlation between performance pay andstudent achievement was not statistically significant. Only one factor, teachers increasedattendance, was found to be statistically significant. The other relationship indicatorvariables did not meet the level of statistical significance. Also, teacher type was foundto have no effect on performance pay and student achievement.Research studies on performance-based compensation plans are few. Moreempirical research must be conducted for policymakers to formulate compensation plansthat include an effective performance pay component. Despite these difficulties, it is important to note that several states and school districts continue to investigate ways toimprove student achievement and classroom instruction. The impact of performance paycontinues to need to be investigated. |
en_US |