WWC Quick Review: Arkansas Teacher Performance-Pay Study August 2008

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This study examined whether the Achievement Challenge Pilot Project, a performance-pay program for teachers, improved the academic achievement of elementary school students.

The study was conducted in elementary schools in
Little Rock, Arkansas. The authors analyzed standardized math, reading, and language test scores.

Effects were measured by comparing 2006-to-2007 test score gains in three schools that implemented the program with gains in district elementary schools that did not implement the program.

What did the study authors report?

The study reported higher student test score gains for students in schools that implemented the performance-pay program than for students in schools without the program.

The WWC does not consider these results to be conclusive because the two groups of schools were not initially equivalent. The higher test score gains in the schools that implemented the program may reflect other characteristics of these schools not controlled for in the analysis.

WWC quick reviews are based on the evidence published in the report cited and rely on effect sizes and significance levels as reported by study authors. WWC does not confirm study authors’ findings or contact authors for additional information about the study. The WWC rating refers only to the results summarized above and not necessarily to all results presented in the study.