Earlier this month, Mathematica released a study on the results of a TAP program underway in Chicago (Amber writes it up here). The findings?no impact yet on student learning or teacher retention?are significant for a number of reasons.
- The program was started during Secretary Duncan's Chicago tenure.
- TAP is more than performance pay. It includes reforms to observations, evaluations, career paths, compensation, and more. This is Duncan's comprehensive vision for improving the teaching profession (as I describe in this paper).
- The administration is investing lots and lots of money in this strategy via Race to the Top and the Teacher Incentive Fund.
- It informs the discussion of school-wide vs. teacher-specific bonuses.
Mathematica is still in the early phases of this multi-year study, so we shouldn't draw final conclusions yet. But the findings do underscore how much we still need to learn about this subject, including defining what success looks like.
?Andy Smarick