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       In 2007, the New York City Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers began a three-year pilot of the Schoolwide Performance Bonus Program. The program provided financial rewards to educators in high-needs schools that met annual performance targets determined in part by student growth on standardized tests.

       Using independent analysis of test scores; interviews with school administrators, teachers, and other personnel; and teacher and school staff surveys, RAND provided critical insight into the program’s design and implementation.

       Research Questions How was the pay-for-performance program implemented? What were its intermediate outcomes? How did it affect student performance?

       As designed, the pay-for-performance program did not produce its intended effects: It did not improve student achievement at any grade level. It did not affect teachers' reported attitudes, perceptions, or behaviors. Many teachers reported that while the bonus was desirable, the program did not change their teaching practices. Key conditions that would enable the program to be successful—such as buy-in for bonus criteria, understanding of the program, perceived value of bonus, and perceived fairness—were not present in all schools.

       RAND's work in New York City was one of three such studies conducted to assess the effects of teacher pay-for-performance. Experts also examined the Round Rock Pilot Project, in which bonuses were awarded to Texas teachers based on their shared contribution to student test scores. They also carried out the Project on Incentives in Teaching (POINT), a three-year study in Nashville and the nation's first randomized experiment to test teacher incentive pay.

       This substantial body of work provides policymakers with a strong evidence base on the design, implementation, and potential results of pay-for-performance programs.

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