Abstract
Teacher buy-in is a critical component for the success of any educational reform, especially one involving evaluation and compensation. We report on an instrument developed to measure teacher buy-in for district-developed designation plans associated with a state pay-for-performance (PFP) program, and teacher responses. We used modern test theory to investigate the instrument’s psychometric properties, a procedure often missing from research reports of self-designed surveys. A sample of 3,001 elementary, middle school, and high school teachers in Texas school districts participated in the survey. Our results suggest satisfactory reliability of the instrument and adequate discriminant validity in measuring distinct but related aspects of teacher buy-in. In addition, we found that teacher support for PFP as instantiated in their particular districts was generally high, but still buy-in levels varied significantly among different teacher groupings, pointing the way for future developers of pay-for-performance schemes to improve or maximize their acceptance.
Highlights
International interest in teacher performance incentive pay has fluctuated over the years, and schemes to introduce it are often met with resistance (Burgess et al, 2001; Thompson and Price, 2012)
How are the aspects of teacher buy-in different among eligible teachers and subgroups? it is not always standard procedure for researchers to describe the statistical properties of a survey or questionnaire they may have developed for a policy-related study, we feel that there are potential policy implications if one cannot be assured that the results described have been generated by a reliable and valid instrument
We evaluated the fit of all hypothesized models in terms of both absolute and comparative fit as measured by relative/ normed model chi-square (χ2/df; Wheaton et al, 1977), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA; Steiger and Lind, 1980), standardized root mean square residual (SRMR; Muthén and Muthén, 1998–2017), comparative fit index (CFI; Bentler, 1990), and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI; Tucker and Lewis, 1973)
Summary
International interest in teacher performance incentive pay has fluctuated over the years, and schemes to introduce it are often met with resistance (Burgess et al, 2001; Thompson and Price, 2012). Teacher characteristics such as experience and qualifications, the main determinants of salaries for most school districts, are poor predictors of teachers’ ability to improve student learning (Rivkin et al, 2005; Aaronson et al, 2007). Our focus is on that necessary first step, teacher buy-in
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