By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

NEW PLYMOUTH, Idaho – Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna has repeatedly said pay-for-performance in public schools works, and he points to the New Plymouth school district as evidence.

Pay for performance (or merit pay) is at the heart of Proposition 2, a state ballot referendum asking voters to approve or reject already adopted legislation that provides performance pay for teachers based on student test scores and other factors.

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Voters will decide the issue Nov. 6.

The state’s teachers unions oppose the idea, but recent media reports show Idaho’s template for the plan – New Plymouth’s 10-year-old pay-for-performance system – dramatically  improved student learning over the past decade.

“Numbers from the district show the claims that student achievement has increased are true,” according to a KTVB.com story aimed at fact-checking Luna’s claims. “Several grade levels and subjects in the New Plymouth school district went from the worst in the state to the best.”

In 2002, as the district was implementing the No Child Left Behind federal education policy, New Plymouth officials realized they needed to significantly improve student test scores. At the time, about 45 percent of K-3students were proficient in reading, and about half of middle school students were proficient in math, KTVB.com reports.

New Plymouth teachers and administrators brainstormed and decided to implement a pay-for-performance program.

“It started small with dinners, before it escalated to several hundred dollar bonuses,” the news site reports.

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This year reading proficiency for K-3students was over 95 percent, among the best in the state. Other scores have also improved significantly.

Teachers said the bonus system fostered collaboration between peers, who were grouped by grade or subject area and worked together to qualify for the extra money. If voters approve Proposition 2, local school districts could group their teachers similarly to award bonuses and drive collaboration.

“For us, it worked. Our test scores are up,” Phyllis Nichols, a New Plymouth elementary school counselor, told KTVB.com.

New Plymouth teachers think other school districts could have similar results in improving student performance if they structure the pay system properly.

“I guess it would depend on how it’s structured. In our district it’s been structured so that it’s created a team atmosphere, and I think that’s the key,” teacher Jerilyn Tracadas told the news site.