Pay for Performance FAQs
Q. What is Idaho Code 33-1004 (S 1110)?
A. It establishes a performance bonus pay plan for teachers. These bonuses can be earned in three different ways: (1) working in hard to fill positions, (2) taking on leadership responsibilities, and (3) improving student achievement as measured by the ISAT test at the state level combined with successful achievement of locally-established student achievement goals.
Q. Who is eligible to receive these bonuses?
A. Only certificated staff may earn bonuses. At the school building level, teachers, certificated ancillary staff, and administrators are eligible. At the district level, administrators and other certificated ancillary staff are eligible to receive performance bonuses.
Q. When do teachers and other certified staff begin receiving these bonuses?
A. Bonuses for the student achievement portion of the law will be awarded sometime after July 1, 2012 and will be based on the results of the 2011-2012 school year. Bonuses for leadership and hard to fill positions portions of the law don't go into effect until the following year.
Q. Why is the IEA opposed to this law?
A. There are a number of reasons. Most importantly, no additional state funding has been identified to pay for this system. The funding mechanism is nothing more than a shell game. The complicated bonus pay plan is funded by reducing the amount of money that otherwise would be used to increase all teacher salaries via the traditional salary grid. Additionally, we know educating children is a team effort. Every school employee has a role in ensuring student success; consequently, all school employees should be included in any alternative pay plans.
Q. The student achievement portion of this law seems overly complex and confusing. How does it work?
A. No doubt, the student achievement portion of the law is complex. This piece of the pay-for-performance plan has two parts: a state portion and local portion. In order to earn any student achievement bonus, you must successfully meet or exceed both the state and locally-established goals.
Q. What is required under the state portion of student achievement awards?
A. The state portion of the plan is based on school-wide performance on the ISAT. If your school's students exhibit significant academic growth, as determined by a system to be developed by the State Department of Education, you and your colleagues are eligible to earn performance bonus pay. Additionally, you and your colleagues may qualify for bonus pay if your school's ISAT scores rank in the top three-fourths of all Idaho schools. Under this plan, the majority of the money goes toward schools demonstrating academic growth: 70 percent of the state portion of funding goes toward schools demonstrating growth and 30 percent goes toward schools demonstrating overall achievement.
Q. What must I do to earn bonus pay under the local portion of student achievement awards?
A. Under the local portion of the plan, school districts set student achievement goals. The student achievement goals must be measurable, based on one or more of the following: end-of-course assessments (EOCs), Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI), disaggregated Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) data, graduation rate, dropout rates, percentage of graduates attending postsecondary or entering military, ACT scores, SAT scores, making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP),number of concurrent credit or AP courses successfully completed ("C" or better), passing of college placement exams, curriculum-based measures, percentage of students involved in extracurricular activities, class projects, portfolios, special assignments, parent involvement, teacher grades, or improved rates of attendance.
Q. ESPs play a large role in a student's education, are they included in this bonus plan?
A. No, only certificated staff members are eligible for these bonuses.
Q. I'm a math teacher; do I get hard-to-fill position pay?
A. The hard-to-fill bonuses go to teachers and other certificated staff who serve in hard-to-fill positions. However, these positions are determined by the State Board of Education. School districts receive permission from the State Board for to add other certificates to the list, if they have a "good and rational" reason. These bonuses can be paid to all staff who hold a teaching certificate or who are endorsed in the designated field and providing service in that field. Districts would have the ability to vary the amount of bonuses between different fields (such as math versus special education), but not within fields (such as between two different math teachers). So the positions can vary from district to district. A school district cannot identify more than 1/3 of their staff to receive hard-to-fill bonuses. Funding allocated for hard-to-fill may be used in part or in total for leadership awards.
Q. What are the requirements for receiving leadership bonuses?
A. Teachers who take on extra leadership duties may be eligible to receive leadership bonuses. These duties could include activities such as teacher mentoring, developing curriculum, grant writing, teaching professional development courses, content leadership, lead teacher, peer teaching coach, content specialist, remedial instructor, assessment development, data analysis, special program coordinator, research project, service on local/state/national education committee or task force, providing leadership to a professional learning community, member of a professional learning community, or earning National Board Certification. Leadership duties represent extra time worked above and beyond the normal work day schedule, and cannot include work related to athletics or student activities. The local school board will determine the leadership awards that will be offered. Up to 35 percent of the staff may receive leadership bonuses. Funding allocated for leadership awards may be used in part or in total for hard-to-fill positions.
