COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Harrison School District Two's Pay for Performance program is paying off.
"We've improved instruction, aligned curriculum, and this past year on the Colorado TCAP test our students increased 20/27 tests given," David MacKenzie, Interim Superintendent of Schools for Harrison School District Two said.
Those improvements were showcased in the district's 2012 Teacher Incentive Fund Grant application and helped the school win $4,079,060.
It's money that will fund in part the Effectiveness and Results Plan which means teachers, counselors, principals or anyone who has impact and effect on student achievement through improved instruction would receive compensation.
The district's Pay for Performance program was highly controversial when it started.
The plan bases a teachers paycheck on performance and student achievement, instead of education and tenure.
When the program was implemented it had some teachers worried about how to gage accurate achievement data.
"Anytime you look at any type of instruction and want to do what's best for students there is a cost and often the cost is people."
So the more effective the teachers are the more students will benefit.