Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Tennessee supports performance pay. The state requires local districts to develop differentiated pay plans which may include pay based on performance. If a district chooses to include a performance component, it must be "based on gains in student academic achievement" and "be criterion-based so that everyone meeting a previously agreed-upon standard earns that award." The amount of the award for effective teaching is decided at the local level, but the state requires that the amount be in the thousands, not hundreds of dollars —- incentives significant enough to matter to teachers.
Tennessee recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.