Northern New Mexico Performance-Based Comp Program (MS Word)

NorthernNewMexico
Performance-BasedCompensationProgram

TheNorthernNewMexicoPerformance-BasedCompensationProgram(NNMPBCP)willimplementandevaluateateacherandprincipalcompensationsystemthatusesvalidandreliablemeasuresofstudentachievementastheprimaryindicatorofeffectiveperformance.Theprogramwillbeimplementedinfourhigh-needschooldistricts,whichwillestablishdifferentiatedlevelsofcompensationtorecruitandretaineffectiveteachersandprincipalsinhigh-needruralschoolsandinhard-to-staffsubjectsandwillbuildthecapacityofteachersandprincipalsinparticipatingschoolstoraisestudentachievementthroughtheprovisionofprofessionaldevelopmentandsystemsupportstructures.

NeedsAssessmentResultsandGeneralInformation

Thefourpartneringruralschooldistrictsarehigh-povertywithlargeminoritypopulationsandservealargegeographicalarea(morethan1,000squaremiles).Threedistricts serve lessthan500students,whileEspanolaservesalmost5,000.Unemploymentishighintheseareas,andstudentsarenotgraduatingfromhighschoolreadyforcollege.HispanicstudentsinEspanolahavea16percentreadinessrateforsuccessincollege.Duringthepastdecade,thepercentageofNewMexicoyouthfromlow-incomefamilieswhoearnahighschoolcredentialhasdeclinedfrom78to70percent.NewMexicoeighth-gradersperformverypoorlyonnationalassessmentsinmath,science,andwriting.Thestaterankslastinthenationforeighth-gradereadingonnationalassessments.Approximatelyone-thirdofNewMexicoteachersinmiddleandhighschoolsciencearecertifiedintheirfield;inmath,21percentofmiddleschoolteachersand71percentofhighschoolteachersarecertifiedintheirfield.NewMexico’sruralschoolsaremorelikelytobestaffedwithout-of-fieldteachersandsufferfromhighturnoverrates.TeachersinpredominantlyHispanicandAmericanIndianruralschoolsarelesseducatedthanstateaverages.

Background

In2003,theNewMexicoPublicSchoolReformsActraised teacher salaries and tied salary to performance.In2005,1,000teachersparticipatedintheperformance-basedprogramandwere requiredtosubmitdossierstothestatedetailinghowtheyimpactedstudentachievement;85percentoftheteacherspassedtheassessmentandbecameeligibleforthesalaryincreases.TheNNMPBCPbuildsonthisprogrambytyingstudentachievementdirectlytosalaryincreases.NewMexicoisalsooneofsixstatesparticipatingintheBaldrigeinEducationInitiative,withthevisiontoimproveeducationthroughimprovedorganizationalperformanceandimplementingacontinuousimprovementframework.

Incentives

Partneringdistrictswilladoptperformance-basedpaysystemsthatoffercompensationandincentivesto(1)allpersonnelbasedonstudentachievementgainsfortheschool;(2)individualteachersbasedonstudentachievementgainsfortheclass;(3)teachersbasedonstudentachievementgainsfortargetedsubgroupsofstudents;and(4)recruithighlyeffectiveteacherstohigh-need rural schoolsin hard-to-staff subjectareas.Othercompensation
maybeofferedformentorteachers wholeadlearningcommunitiesfocusedonstudentwork;conducttheBaldrigeclassroomprogramwithstudentsandsubmitfollowupmaterialsandresults;provideenrichmentactivitiesforstudents;receivehighratingsonprincipalandteamevaluations;orreceivehighgradesfrom parentand studentsurveys.PrincipalscanearnperformancebonusesbymeetingstateEducationalPlanforStudentSuccessgoalsrelatedtostudentachievement;leadingteamsthatcompleteteacherobservationsandevaluations;receivinghighscoresonBaldrigecriteriafromoutsideevaluators;orearninghighratingsfromteachers.

Eachdistrict’scompensationplanisuniqueinthattheincentivesare“options”thataretobeconsideredforinclusionbyeachdistrict.Finaldeterminationswillbemadebyeachdistricttomeettheiruniqueneeds.

Evaluation

Anexternalevaluator,Wexford,willassessthemanagement,quality,effectiveness,andimpactoftheproject’sservices.Thekeyissuesare:(1)managementstructureandeffectiveness;(2)degreeto whichtheprojectmeetsallkeygoals;(3)customersatisfactionandperceptionoftheutilityandeffectivenessofservices;and(4)effectivenessofdesigncomponentsofthemodelsof supportivepay for teachersand principals.

Resources

Local resources willbe focused onthe implementationof the compensation system.LosAlamosNationalLabsFoundationprovidesEspanolaschoolswith$1.2millionwhichwillbeusedtosupporttheprogram.Theotherthreedistrictsreceiveapproximately$20,000fromtheU.S.DepartmentofEducationforsmallandruralschools.Otherdistrictfederalfundswillbealignedinsupportaswell.

Data Systems

Thenetworkproposestomeasurestudentachievementusingthreedata-management processes:studentassessmentsresults(grades3to9and11),alternativestudentassessmentdatausingMAPtocross-validatethestateassessmentdataforthreeoftheparticipatingdistrictsand,forthefourthdistrict,theA+StateSnapshotsAssessmentprocessthattracksprogressthatschools,classes,andstudentsaremakingthroughouttheyear towardlearninggoalsspecifictotheNewMexicostandardsandbenchmarks.Inaddition,theBaldrigeprogramhasteachersandstudentscollectdataspecifictocurrentclassroomlessonsandprofessionallearningcommunitiesprovidein-depthanalysisofstudentworktoplanspecificinterventions.Thesedatawillbeincorporatedintothedesignofthestudentassessmentprocessspecifictoteacher/principaleffectiveness.

Anewdatamanagementsystemwasinstalledinthefallof2006bytheNewMexicoPublicEducationDepartment.Thissystemshouldprovidenewdisaggregateddataonamorefrequentbasistosupporttheprocessofcreatinganinterlockingsystemtosupportstudentsuccess.Inaddition,theNorthernNetwork’sWebsiteisaccessibletoallofthepartnerdistrictsandiscurrentlybeingupdatedtoadatabasesystembackedbya contentmanagement system.This systemwilltakeartifactsfromeachoftheschooldistrictsandputthemintoaformattosupporttheprogram.Thedevelopmentofthetechnologysupportwillbefluidastheexactrequirementsneededtosupporttheprogramaredependentoncompletionof severalplanningandreviewstepsoncetheprojectstarts.