Primer: Q Comp

Quality Compensation for Teachers (“Q Comp”), proposed by Governor Pawlenty and enacted by the Legislature in July 2005, is a performance pay system for Minnesota school teachers. Under Q Comp, school districts, school sites, and charter schools may apply for performance pay funding to the Minnesota Department of Education.

The program is designed to improve student performance while also offering high performing teachers career advancement, professional development, and additional compensation. It includes a locally agreed upon peer evaluation process for every teacher based on skills, responsibilities, and student academic achievement. The plan is voluntary and adds $260 per student in participating districts.

Q Comp is based on a performance pay program called the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), which has been implemented in many states and piloted in Minnesota. As of October 2006, 27 Minnesota school districts had been approved for Q Comp funding and more than 100 more had indicated their intention to apply for future school years.

According to the Minnesota Department of Education, approved Q Comp programs must contain the following basic components: a career ladder and career advancement option for teachers; job-embedded professional development; a teacher evaluation system; performance pay; and an alternative salary schedule.

Evidence of Performance Pay Success

• In 2002, three of four schools in Arizona using performance pay plans under the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) performed significantly better than the control schools – 14 to 46 point percentile rank differences

• In South Carolina in 2003, four of six schools under the TAP performed significantly better than control schools in math – 14 to 27 point percentile rank differences

• Preliminary results from TAP pilot programs in Minneapolis and Waseca suggest that performance pay for teachers has improved students’ success on the 8th Grade Basic Skills Test