The Pay for Performance Program Among Denver Teachers

Case Study Chapter 8:

“The Pay-For-Performance Program among Denver Teachers

Hits a Roadblock”

Resume of the case

The pay-for-performance applied by The Denver Public School was a good model for other schools in the USA as a tool to increase motivation of teachers. After 3 years become a successful role model of pay-for-performance program in the states, the program had to face barrier which brought by different opinion between district and the teachers union. The district wanted to make several new modifications of the program which cannot agreeable by the teachers union. The negotiations between those parties met to the dead lock. Many experts who had concern in the national education area were dismayed if this excellent pay-for-performance program had to break-down after showed a great influence in the states’ educational systems.

The district offered new rule that large incentive only given to junior teachers and those who want to take risks of teaching in the particular conditions which not every teachers do not want to involve such as teaching in unpopular school. Moreover, the district gave proposal of separating bonuses and incentives system between junior and senior teachers. Based on the proposal, only junior teachers had chance to gain a great increasing in salary compare to the veteran ones who did not receive increasing in bonuses except annual bonuses. Therefore the base salary for the veteran will remain the same.

On the other hand, the teachers’ union objective to set up the increase of incentives and bonuses related to the salary was addressed to all teachers and not only for the junior teachers or those who involved in particular conditions. The teachers union did not agree with the district’s proposal. The modifications of proposal promoted by district did not meet with the wants of teachers union. The disagreement had steered the pay-for-performance program to the collapse condition.

1. What is the source of conflict between the school system and the union?

The union feels that the pay plan program offered by district discriminate against veteran teachers.

2. To what extent does Denver’s pay plan build on recommendations from equity and expectancy theory? Explain.

Equity theory stated that motivation is a function of fairness in social exchange while the expectancy theory said that people are motivated to behave in ways that produces valued outcomes. As can be seen from the case, education and experience are the two factors give most influence in teacher’s salary on the nationwide system. The Denver’s pay plan main structure is to set up an increasing in teacher’s base salary and it relies on the teacher’s