Principal Survey

Dear Principal,

The U.S. Department of Education has contracted with SRI International, the Urban Institute, and Berkeley Policy Associates to conduct a five-year study of the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), which was designed to provide financial support to local education agencies, nonprofit organizations, or state education agencies to implement innovative performance pay systems for primary and secondary school teachers and principals.

This survey is intended to help us learn about educators’ perceptions of, and experiences with, performance pay in general and the Teacher Incentive Fund. You are receiving this survey because your school is participating in one of the programs listed below.  However, when completing this survey, if your school is implementing more than one performance pay program, please respond based on your experiences in ALL performance pay programs in which you currently participate.

Alaska	Alaska Teacher and Principal Incentive Project
Arizona	Amphitheater Unified’s Project EXCELL!
California	Lynwood Unified’s Quest for Success
Colorado	Denver Public School’s ProComp
	Eagle County School District’s Performance-Based Compensation Program
	Harrison School District’s REAL program
	Weld County’s Fort Lupton Teacher Incentive Fund
District of Columbia	D.C. Public Schools’ TEAM program
Florida	Hillsborough County Public Schools’ POWER program
	Miami-Dade County’s Project RISE
	Orange County’s REAP program
Illinois	Chicago Public Schools’ Chicago TAP program
Louisiana	Algiers Charter Schools Association’s Teacher Advancement Program (TAP)
Massachusetts	Edward W. Brooke Charter School’s Teacher Excellence Incentive Project
Maryland	Prince George's County’s FIRST program
North Carolina	Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s LEAP program
	Cumberland County’s Teacher Incentive Fund
	Guilford County’s Mission Possible program
New Mexico	Northern New Mexico’s Performance-Based Compensation Program
New York	Center for Educational Innovation’s (CEI-PEA) PICCS program
Ohio	Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo’s OTIF program
Oklahoma	Beggs SMART program
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia’s Teacher and Principal Incentive Fund Project
	Pittsburgh’s PULSE program
South Carolina	Florence County and Lauren’s School District’s SCTAP+
	South Carolina Department of Education’s TAP
South Dakota	South Dakota Incentive Fund (SDI+)
Tennessee	Memphis City Schools Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) program
Texas	Dallas ISD Performance Pay Program
	Houston’s Project ASPIRE
	School of Excellence in Education’s TAPASA program
	University of Texas’s Teacher Incentive Fund Program
NATIONAL	National Charter School Consortium’s Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC)

We appreciate your contribution to our study, and your responses will provide invaluable insight into the implementation of performance pay systems across the country. Your responses will be kept confidential. For reporting purposes, your responses will be combined with those of other educators in your performance pay program, and no survey response will be reported at the individual level.

The survey will take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. If you prefer to complete this survey online, please follow this link: [INSERT LINK] and enter participant code {X]. have any questions about this survey or the national study, please contact:

Dr. H. Alix Gallagher, SRI International

Phone: (650) 859-3504

Fax: 650-859-3375

Email: [email protected]

This survey is authorized by the U.S. Department of Education (P.L. 20 U.S.C. 1221e-1) and the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002.  These laws require that the survey sponsor treat all information you provide as confidential.  The information you provide will be used only for research and statistical purposes by the survey sponsor, its contractors, and collaborating researchers for the purpose of analyzing data and preparing scientific reports and articles.  Any information publicly released (such as statistical summaries) will be in a form that does not personally identify you.  Your response is voluntary. 

According to the Paperwork reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1875-0256. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 20-25 or minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4537.

OMB NO.: [to be filled in]

EXPIRATION DATE: [to be filled in]

National Study of the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF)

Principal Survey

This survey is intended to help us learn about educators’ experiences with performance pay in their school or district as part of the national evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF). Performance pay programs are designed to provide additional compensation—often referred to as incentives—based on meeting certain established criteria.

SECTION I: PRINCIPAL BACKGROUND

1. Including this school year (2010-11), please indicate the number of years you have worked as an educator in the following capacities. Mark one box per row.

	1 year	2-3 years	4-5 years	6-9 years	10-19 years	20+ years
Worked as the principal of THIS school						
Worked as the principal of ANY school						
Worked as a teacher in ANY school						

2. Please indicate the grade levels served by your school. Mark all that apply.

PreK	K	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
													

3. Including yourself, how many administrators (principals and assistant principals) do you currently have at your school? Please enter the total number of FTE administrators below.

. FTE administrators

4. How many FTE (full time equivalent) teachers do you currently have at your school? Please enter the total number of FTE teachers below.

. FTE teachers

5. What is your total school enrollment this year? Please enter the total number of students below.

 students

SECTION II: PRINCIPAL PERFORMANCE PAY PROGRAM

In this section, please think about the performance pay program as it applies directly to YOU, the principal.

6. Is participation in the principals’ performance pay program in your school or district mandatory?

Mark only one box.

 Yes

 No

 Don’t know

6. How well do you understand the following aspects of the performance pay program for principals in your school or district? Mark one box per row.

	Not at all	Somewhat	Very well
Goals of the program			
Activities for which you can earn incentive pay			
How incentive amounts are calculated			
When incentive payments are distributed			
How your work as a principal is evaluated for the program			

6. For which of the following activities can principals earn additional pay under the performance pay program in your school or district? Mark one box per row.

	Yes	No	Don’t know
School Assignment
Working in a “hard-to-staff” school (e.g., schools serving large proportions of economically disadvantaged or low-performing students)			
Raising Student Achievement
Raising student achievement school-wide			
Principal Practices
Job performance as measured by formal evaluation			
Fostering improved teacher performance and professional growth through formal activities (e.g. creating and monitoring professional growth plans)			
Other Components of the Performance Pay Program
Attending professional development			
Participating in graduate level courses, or earning a Master’s degree or additional certification (may include tuition reimbursement)			
Taking on additional leadership responsibilities (e.g., serving as a mentor to teachers or administrators)			
Sharing effective practices with educators and administrators in a systematic way.			
Other  Please specify________________________________________________			

6. What is the maximum amount that a principal can currently earn as an incentive (in addition to base salary) through participation in the performance pay program? Mark only one box.

 Less than $1,000

 $1,000 - $1,999

 $2,000 - $3,999

 $4,000 - $5,999

 $6,000 - $7,999

 $8,000 - $9,999

• $10,000 - $11,999

• $12,000 - $14,999

 $15,000 or more

 Don’t know

10. Thinking about the way(s) you receive information about the performance pay program in your school or district, indicate how helpful each of the following sources of information have been for you personally.

Mark one box per row.

	Did not receive	Not at all helpful	Somewhat helpful	Very helpful
Written communication from the district				
Formal meetings or professional development				
Teachers or other staff				
The media				
Other  Please specify __________________________				

10. Thinking about the past 12 months, what support did you receive to help you earn an incentive award?

Mark one box per row.

	Yes	No
Mentoring or coaching		
Professional development		
Observation, evaluation, or feedback		
Other support  Please specify _____________________________		

10. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the supports (e.g. professional development, coaching, evaluation and feedback) that were available to you in the past 12 months?

Mark one box per row.

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
I have sufficient support available to me.				
The support available to me is of high quality.				
Our performance pay program influences the type of support I seek out.				
The support I received impacted the way I do my job.				
The support I received helped me earn an incentive award.				

10. As a result of your participation in the performance pay program, please indicate whether you spend more, less or about the same amount of time on the following activities during your work week.

Mark one box per row.

	Less	Same	More
Management/administration (including paperwork related to the performance pay program, human resources, budgeting, etc.)			
Leadership (including defining and implementing school vision and culture, and working with school leadership teams)			
Student assessment and analysis of student data to inform curriculum and instruction			
Conducting teacher evaluations			
Curriculum and instructional activities			
School climate issues			
Student behavior management			
Working with the community			
Other  Please specify _____________________________________			

10. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about your participation in the performance pay program? Mark one box per row.

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
I can increase my earnings through the performance pay program in my school or district.				
I am better compensated as a principal with a performance pay program.				
The size of the possible award is large enough to motivate me to earn it.				
I was already working as effectively as I could before the implementation of the performance pay program.				
The formal evaluation I received was fair.				
I have received more support through professional development as a result of the performance pay program.				
I have altered my leadership practices as a result of the performance pay program.				
I experience personal satisfaction earning an incentive.				
The possibility of an award has helped me motivate teachers to work toward common school goals.				
I understand why I did or did not receive an incentive.				

10. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the performance pay program in your school or district? Mark one box per row.

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
The performance pay program is clearly communicated to educators.				
Our school has less chance of earning an award because of the characteristics our student population.				
The performance pay system is fair.				
The criteria to receive an incentive are fair.				
The evaluation system omits important aspects of school administration that should be considered.				
The performance pay program contributes to greater collegiality and professionalism among the staff in my school/district.				
The performance pay program has helped establish common goals for student learning and teacher instruction at my school.				
Changes in student achievement are attributable to the performance pay program.				
Teachers at my school are more comfortable with frequent observations of their teaching because of the performance pay program.				
Parents and the school community believe the performance pay program is important.				
The performance pay program is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.				

10. Including this year, how many years have you participated in a performance pay program for principals?

Mark only one box.

 None, I have never participated in a performance pay program  SKIP TO QUESTION 21

 1 year

 2 - 3 years

• 4 - 5 years

• More than 5 years

• Don’t know

10. What was the total amount of the performance bonus you received LAST year, for 2009-10?

Mark only one box.

 None, I did not work in a school with a performance pay program last year  SKIP TO QUESTION 19

 None, I did not receive a performance bonus last year SKIP TO QUESTION 19

 Less than $1000

 $1,000 - $1,999

 $2,000 - $3,999

 $4,000 - $5,999

 $6,000 - $7,999

 $8,000 - $9,999

 $10,000 - $14,999

 $15,000 or more

 Don’t know

10. Did you receive the correct compensation LAST year, for 2009-10, based on the criteria of the performance pay program and your personal performance? Mark only one box.

 Yes

 No

 Don’t know

10. Are you CURRENTLY, in 2010-11, participating in the performance pay program in your school or district?

Mark only one box.

 Yes

 No  SKIP TO QUESTION 21

 Don’t know

10. Thinking about this academic year (2010-11), what is the likelihood that you will earn an award for each of the following? If the activity is not compensated as part of your performance pay program, please mark “Not Applicable”. Mark one box per row.

	Not at all likely	Somewhat likely	Very likely	Not applicable
Working in a “hard-to-staff” school				
Raising student achievement school-wide				
Job performance as measured by formal evaluation				
Other components of the performance pay program (e.g., professional development, additional responsibilities, additional certification)				

10. Has the performance pay program affected your choice of school?

 Yes

 No  SKIP TO QUESTION 23

10. Please indicate which of the following apply to you. Mark all that apply.

 I stayed in my school because of the performance pay program.

 I changed schools to get into the performance pay program.

 I applied to this school to get into the performance pay program.

 I applied for positions in another school or district to try to leave the performance pay program.

10. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about your school?

Mark one box per row.

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
Teachers trust and respect one another.				
School administrators respect and support the teachers in their work.				
Teachers are involved in making decisions at this school.				
Parents and the community respect teachers at this school.				
Most educators believe that all the students at this school can do well academically.				
School administrators set high standards for teaching.				
School administrators know what is going on in teachers’ classrooms.				

10. What is the highest degree you hold? Mark only one box.

 Associate’s degree

 Bachelor’s degree

 Bachelor’s degree plus some graduate credit

• Master’s degree

• Master’s degree plus some additional graduate credit

 Doctorate or professional degree

 Other  Please specify __________________________

10. What is your age (in years)? Mark only one box.

 Less than 25

 25 - 30

 31 - 40

 41 - 50

 51 - 65

 65 or over

10. What is your current base salary (before taxes and deductions)? Mark only one box.

 Less than $50,000

 $50,000 - $59,999

 $60,000 - $69,999

• $70,000 - $79,999

 $80,000 - $89,999

• $90,000 - $99,999

• $100,000 - $124,999

• $125,000 or more

SECTION III: TEACHER PERFORMANCE PAY PROGRAM

In this section, we ask about your teachers’ participation in your district or school’s performance pay program.

10. Are any teachers at your school currently participating in a performance pay program? Mark only one box.

 Yes

 No  Skip to question 34

 Don’t know

10. Is participation in the performance pay program mandatory for teachers in your school or district?

Mark only one box.

 Yes

 No

 Don’t know

10. How well do you understand the performance pay program for teachers in your school or district?

 Not at all

 Somewhat

 Very well

10. For which of the following activities can teachers earn additional pay under the performance pay program in your school or district? Mark one box per row.

    	Yes	No	Don’t know
    Teaching Assignment
    Teaching in a “hard-to-staff” school (e.g., schools serving large proportions of economically disadvantaged or low-performing students)			
    Teaching mathematics			
    Teaching science			
    Teaching special education			
    Raising Student Achievement
    Raising student achievement school-wide			
    Raising student achievement in a teacher’s individual classroom			
    Classroom Practice
    A teacher’s classroom practice, as measured by formal evaluation			
    Other components of the performance pay program
    Attending professional development			
    Participating in graduate level courses, or earning a Master’s degree or additional certification (may include tuition reimbursement)			
    Taking on additional responsibilities (e.g., being a master teacher, chairing a committee, mentoring another teacher)			
    Sharing effective practices with other teachers and educators in a systematic way			
    Earning National Board Certification			
    Other  Please specify_____________________________________________			

11. Thinking about all of the possible activities that are compensated through incentives in your performance pay program, what is the maximum amount that a teacher can currently earn in addition to base salary?

Mark only one box.

 Less than $1,000

 $1,000 - $1,999

 $2,000 - $3,999

 $4,000 - $5,999

 $6,000 - $7,999

 $8,000 - $9,999

• $10,000 - $11,999

• $12,000 - $14,999

 $15,000 or more

 Don’t know

10. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the performance pay program for teachers in your school or district? Mark one box per row.

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
My teachers are offered sufficient supports.				
The performance pay program encourages teachers to work harder than in prior years.				
The performance pay program does a good job of distinguishing effective from ineffective teachers.				
The performance pay program contributes to greater collegiality and professionalism among the staff in my school/district.				
The prospect that teachers can earn additional compensation leads some teachers to engage in unethical behavior.				
Teachers have altered their instructional practices as a result of the performance pay program.				
Performance pay leads some teachers to focus too much on test-taking and not the broader curriculum.				
Performance pay negatively affects the morale of teachers who did not receive an incentive award.				

10. How strongly do you agree or disagree about the effects of the performance pay program on attracting and retaining teachers at your school? Mark one box per row.

    	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
    The performance pay program helped me recruit effective teachers at my school.				
    The performance pay program has encouraged effective teachers to remain at my school.				
    The performance pay program has encouraged ineffective teachers to leave my school.				
    Overall, the performance pay program contributed to the district’s ability to attract and retain effective teachers.				

11. Please indicate today’s date (MM/DD/YYYY): //

10. Please share any other information that you feel will help us better understand your school or district performance pay program.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMPLETING THIS SURVEY.