Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Mississippi supports performance pay. The Mississippi Performance Based Pay plan "may provide monies from state funds to school districts for the purposes of rewarding certified teachers...at individual schools showing improvement in student test scores." The state does not address the amount of the award and the plan is only supported if funding is available.
Ensure performance pay is connected to student achievement.
Although Mississippi is commended for supporting performance pay, it should guarantee a connection to student achievement and prevent local districts from basing financial incentives on other elements that may not be indicative of performance in the classroom.
Mississippi recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.