Strategic Compensation Update

Sylvia Flowers, Executive Director of Educator Talent – Teachers and Leaders –

October 2017

Compensation Reform in Tennessee

Changes in Teacher Pay

Tennessee Teacher Perceptions

Differentiated Pay

Takeaways

Agenda

Compensation Reform in Tennessee

Compensation Reform in Tennessee

2007•Compensation law passed by legislature

2010-11

•Evaluation required as part of First to the Top Act and required to be used as “a factor” in human capital decisions

•Strategic compensation plans emerge funded with Race to the Top (4 districts) and TIF Round 3 (12 districts)

2012•Additional strategic compensation plans funded with TIF Round 4 (3 districts)

2013-14

•State minimum salary schedule changes to allow for increased local flexibility

•Differentiated pay guidelines updated by State Board

2014-15•First year of state-wide differentiated pay implementation

2017

•Nearly $450M invested in teacher salaries

•Strategic Compensation policy passed by the State Board

Supporting the preparation and development of an exceptional educator workforce

Focus educator preparation providers on outcome measures via provider approval, the annual report and the report card.

Improve the accuracy of educator evaluation and the quality of the feedback educators receive.

Support district development of more effective personalized professional learning components through tools that allow better tracking and evaluation of results.

Support districts in creating greater differentiation of teacher roles, responsibilities, and salaries.

Create statewide and regional leadership pipelines that produce transformational school leaders.

Tennessee Succeeds: Educator Support

Preparation Recruitment HiringEvaluation

and Development

Compensation

Teacher Leadership

and Pathways

The strength of Tennessee’s classroom is defined by the strength of Tennessee’s educators

Effective evaluation implementation allows districts to make

smarter decisions about teacher recruitment, selection,

evaluation, development, compensation, and retention.

Why strategic compensation?

After five years, there is little difference in performance based on experience

Advanced degrees have little correlation with student outcomes

Changes in Teacher Pay

Median teacher pay has increased

$40,000

$42,000

$44,000

$46,000

$48,000

$50,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Median Teacher Salary in Tennessee

Pay has increased 22 percent for teachers who have worked in TN schools from 2010 – 2017

$40,000

$42,000

$44,000

$46,000

$48,000

$50,000

$52,000

$54,000

$56,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Median Salary for 2010 - 2017 Cohort

2010-17 Cohort

Pay is increasing for all teachers at all levels of experience

$35,000

$40,000

$45,000

$50,000

$55,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Teacher Salaries by Experience

All Teachers 0 - 2 Years 4 - 6 Years' Exp 16 - 18 Years' Exp

Teacher pay is increasing in all regions

$35,000

$40,000

$45,000

$50,000

$55,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Teacher Salary by Region

Northwest Southwest Mid Cumberland Upper Cumberland

East TN First TN Southeast South Central

Pay is increasing in small and medium-sized districts at higher rates than in the largest districts

$40,000

$42,000

$44,000

$46,000

$48,000

$50,000

$52,000

$54,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Teacher Salaries by District SizeUnder 5000 students 5 - 10K students 10 - 40K students 4 Largest Metro Areas

Tennessee Teacher Perceptions

Most teachers think that many factors should be incorporated into teacher compensation

89%

78%73%

70% 71%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Working withstudents outside of

classroom time

Teaching in hard-to-staff schools

Teaching in hard-to-staff subjects

Level of OverallEffectiveness

Teaching in hard-to-staff grades

Percent of teachers who think each of the following factors should be incorporated into teacher compensation

Teachers’ opinions of whether LOE should matter for compensation did not vary on average by prior year LOE

70%

87%83%

87%

66%

78%76%

82%

70%72%

70%

76%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Level of OverallEffectiveness

Teaching in hard-to-staffsubjects

Teaching in hard-to-staffgrades

Teaching in hard-to-staffschools

Percent of teachers who think each of the following factors should be incorporated into teacher compensation

Level 1 & 2 Level 3 Level 4 & 5

Teachers with fewer years of experience were more in favor of differentiated compensation options

78%

83%

72%

80%

67%

76%

66%

75%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Level of Overall Effectiveness Teaching in hard-to-staff schools

Percent of teachers who think each of the following factors should be incorporated into teacher compensation

Less than 3 yrs 3 to 10 10 to 20 more than 20

Differentiated Pay

Requires LEAs differentiate how they pay licensed personnel

Districts have flexibility under the law to develop and implement pay plans that meet their specific priorities, needs, and context:

– Reward teachers who teach in high-needs schools or high-needs subject areas

– Reward teachers for performance based on state board-approved evaluation criteria

– Additional compensation to teachers who take on additional instructional responsibilities (i.e. teacher mentors, instructional coaches)

– Adopt alternative salary schedules

Requires evidence of implementation of differentiated pay plan

No presently employed teacher can earn less than they currently make; they can only make more

Strategic Compensation Policy

Tiers of Implementation

TierNumber of Differentiated Pay

Criteria

Percentage of Teachers

Impacted

0 Did not implement 0%

1 1 Less than 10%

2 1-2 ~10-30%

3 1-3 ~20-50%

4 2-4 Greater than 50%

5Performance-Based Alternative

Salary Schedule + 2 otherOver 90%

District plans by Tier of Implementation

8

49

55

21

3

10

0

51

42

30

1211

0

50

38

29

19

10

0

40

44

29

20

13

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Tier 0 Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5

Num

ber

of

Dis

tric

ts

2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18

Types of Differentiated Pay Plans

57

111

69

42

53

121

75

4950

126

75

4952

121

77

52

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Performance Roles Hard to Staff Salary ScheduleModifications

2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 (projected)

Nu

mb

er

of

Dis

tric

ts

Tier 5 districts had slightly higher average pay increases

2.40%

2.50%

2.60%

2.70%

2.80%

2.90%

3.00%

3.10%

3.20%

3.30%

Tier 0 Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5

Percent Salary Increases Tier

Distribution of Levels of Overall Effectiveness from 2012 to 2016

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of Teachers by Level of Overall Effectiveness

LOE 1 LOE 2 LOE 3 LOE 4 LOE 5

Highly Effective Teachers Are Seeing Some Pay Differentiation

$44,000

$45,000

$46,000

$47,000

$48,000

$49,000

$50,000

$51,000

$52,000

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Median Salary by Prior Year Level of Effectiveness

LOE 1 & 2 LOE 3 LOE 4 LOE 5

Differentiation Differs by Experience Level

$30,000

$35,000

$40,000

$45,000

$50,000

$55,000

ALL Less than 3 Years ofExperience

11 Years of Experience

2016-17 Median Salaries by 2015-16 LOE

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Takeaways

Teachers largely support differentiated compensation.

Teacher pay has increased, especially for

– beginning teachers,

– teachers in small & medium districts, and

– highly effective teachers.

Districts are slowly shifting toward differentiated pay.

Takeaways

Districts and schools in Tennessee will exemplify excellence and equity such that all

students are equipped with the knowledge and skills to successfully embark on their

chosen path in life.

Excellence | Optimism | Judgment | Courage | Teamwork