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Paying Teachers for What They Know and Do: New and Smarter Compensation Strategies to Improve Schools

Item # 060

By Allan Odden & Carolyn Kelley

The demand for more innovative, more competitive, and more motivating compensation plans for teachers is growing every day . . . and now Allan Odden and Carolyn Kelley have updated their classic book on teacher compensation to give district and site-based administrators all the new information and insight they need to start moving in the right direction.

The second edition of Paying Teachers for What They Know and Do describes various pay and compensation initiatives currently in use across the country, including signing bonuses, upgrades in teacher pensions, higher salaries to those who are willing to work in more challenging schools, and other approaches. It also explores the different types of compensation plans used in the private sector as well as systems based on the continued acquisition of skills, knowledge, and experience. Then Odden and Kelley take the next step and describe exactly how these plans can be applied successfully in districts of any size.

Topics include:

The current status of teacher compensation
Three approaches to compensating teachers
The relationship between pay and motivation
Knowledge-based and skills-based pay
Group-based performance awards
Gain-sharing programs
Ways to design and implement alternative teacher compensation
This valuable book also provides vital information on how these programs can be funded and how school districts can design effective compensation programs that answer the needs of their existing teacher base.

An essential tool for administrators at every level who want and need to keep the very best teachers . . . and pay them what they're worth.

(Corwin Press, 2002)