Based on test scores, teacher records, surveys, and interviews, examines the first-year impact of the TAP program, in which teachers delivering added value to student achievement and quality classroom performance earn extra pay and become mentors.
- Successful Strategy: TAP schools retained teachers at a higher rate than matched comparison schools.
- Observation: Chicago TAP significantly affected teaching support received and compensation expectations in TAP schools.
- Observation: Teachers in TAP schools reported spending significantly more scheduled time receiving mentoring support than teachers in similar non-TAP schools.
- Challenge: As of the first year of implementation, these changes did not produce measurable impacts on students (student achievement growth as measured by average math and reading ISAT scores did not differ significantly between TAP and non-TAP schools).
- Challenge: Teachers in TAP schools did not report significantly higher satisfaction or more positive attitudes toward their principals than did control teachers.