ASPIRE Award Program Evaluation, 2015-2016. Research Educational Program Report

N

104

Merit Pay; Teacher Salaries; School Districts; Incentives; Teacher Attitudes; Administrator Attitudes; Merit Rating; Awards; Accountability; Knowledge Level; Academic Achievement; Educational Practices; Compensation (Remuneration); Teaching Assistants; Paraprofessional School Personnel; Elementary School Teachers; Secondary School Teachers; Teacher Recruitment; Teacher Persistence; Teacher Attendance; Teacher Effectiveness

On January 12, 2006, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education approved a teacher performance-pay program awarding teachers financial incentives based on three indicators of performance pay, using value-added methodology. For 2015-2016, HISD did not renew its contract with SAS EVAAS®. The amended model replaced EVAAS® with comparative growth as an award indicator. There are four major components of the Amended ASPIRE Award Model for Teachers and Campus Based Staff: (1) Group Performance based on Campus Comparative Growth; (2) Group Performance based on Campus Academic Achievement; (3) Group Performance based on Grade/Subject Student Growth; and (4) Individual Performance based on Teacher Comparative Growth. After consultations with national experts, teachers, and administrators, the teacher performance-pay model was improved and enhanced, which then became the ASPIRE Award, one component of the district's ASPIRE (Accelerating Student Progress: Increasing Results and Expectations) school improvement and performance management model. The purpose of the HISD ASPIRE Award Model was to reward teachers for their efforts in improving the academic growth of their students. The 2015-2016 ASPIRE Award uses comparative growth to provide teachers with the information they need to facilitate and measure student progress at the student, classroom, and campus levels. Due to budget constraints the 2015-2016 ASPIRE Award is the final district wide payout of this performance pay program. This report summarizes the effectiveness of the 2015-2016 ASPIRE Award as required by federal grants. The following analyses are included in the evaluation: (1) Award Payout by Model and Year; (2) Recruitment and Retention; (3) Teacher Attendance; (4) Survey Feedback; and (5) Distribution of Highly Effective Teachers Across the District.

ERIC

2019

ED597991