PORTLAND -- Can student performance be improved by simply changing how teachers are paid? A new study released today by The Maine Heritage Policy Center explores the concept of alternative compensation plans for teachers, and describes the impact they can have on student outcomes. This study is the first of a number of reports on teacher compensation reform being funded in part by a grant from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

"Maine has been trying for years to improve its schools," notes Stephen Bowen, director of education policy at The Maine Heritage Policy Center. "We've put learning standards in place, changed our student assessment practices, and increased state and local spending on K-12 education to the point that our spending per student is among the highest in the nation, but student performance has stayed about the same. There is promising evidence from other states and other countries which shows that tying teacher pay to student performance and other indicators of teacher quality can have a direct result on the test scores of students."

"This correlation between performance-based teacher compensation and higher test scores cannot be ignored if Maine people are serious about graduating students who are ready to learn the skills needed to compete in the world economy," Bowen adds. "A revised system to pay teachers will also build stronger schools over the long term by keeping the best teachers in the classroom and convincing the brightest Maine students that they will be able to have a rewarding career as an innovative teacher."

This new report, published as The Maine View, Volume 6 Issue 5, is titled: "Reforming Teacher Pay in Maine - Part 1: How Alternative Teacher Compensation Systems are Improving Student Outcomes."  It is available for viewing and printing here: The Maine View, Vol 6, #5.

For more information, please contact Steve Bowen, director of education policy at The Maine Heritage Policy Center at 207-321-2550 or via email: sbowen@mainepolicy.org  You may also contact Martin Sheehan, director of communications at 207-321-2550 or via email: msheehan@mainepolicy.org.

The Maine Heritage Policy Center is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational organization based in Portland, Maine. The Maine Heritage Policy Center formulates and promotes free market, conservative public policies in the areas of economic growth, fiscal matters, health care, education, and transparency - providing solutions that will benefit all the people of Maine. Contributions to The Maine Heritage Policy Center are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.