Program Office: Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs

CFDA Number: 84.385A
Program Type: Discretionary Grants/ARRA

This program supports efforts to develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems in high-need schools.

Goals include:

• Improving student achievement by increasing teacher and principal effectiveness;


• Reforming teacher and principal compensation systems so that teachers and principals are rewarded for increases in student achievement;


• Increasing the number of effective teachers teaching poor, minority, and disadvantaged students in hard-to-staff subjects; and


• Creating sustainable performance-based compensation systems.

Projects develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems in high-need schools.

Performance-based compensation systems must consider gains in student academic achievement as well as classroom evaluations conducted multiple times during each school year among other factors and provide educators with incentives to take on additional responsibilities and leadership roles.