Case Studies: Overview | Eagle County | ProComp | Q Comp | TAP
The Professional Compensation System for Teachers (ProComp) was created as a joint effort between the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools. It is widely regarded as among the most innovative differentiated compensation plans in the country because it fully includes all educators – not just those teaching in tested subjects – in the district’s performance pay program. The program aims to recognize and reward excellent teachers and student services professionals for meeting high expectations and to attract and retain the most effective teachers by offering increased annual earning potential.
Though the ProComp system is still very new, a formative evaluation conducted by the ProComp Evaluation Team at the University of Colorado found modest positive effects of teacher participation in ProComp on student achievement gains. Survey responses also indicated that a majority of teachers believe ProComp has increased their engagement in professional development activities.
ProComp allows teachers to increase their earnings through four broad components – Knowledge and Skills, Professional Evaluation, Student Growth, and Market Incentives.
Knowledge and Skills
Teachers earn additional compensation for acquiring new knowledge and skills by way of the following three elements:
- Annual Professional Development Units (PDUs). Teachers can earn a salary increase up to 2% of index for completing professional development units aligned to their professional development goals. For more information on PDUs, click here.
- Graduate Degrees/National Board Certificates. Teachers can earn a salary increase up to 9% of index for obtaining graduate degrees or advanced certificates.
- Tuition and Student Loan Reimbursement. Teachers can earn up to $1,000 annually, with a lifetime limit of $4,000, to be used towards past or current graduate work.
Professional Evaluation
ProComp has developed a comprehensive professional evaluation system that recognizes and rewards probationary and non-probationary teachers who demonstrate proficient and distinguished practice. Probationary teachers can earn a salary increase of 1% of index each year and non-probationary teachers can earn a salary increase of 3% of index every three years. Evaluation methods and resources differ for classroom teachers, student service professionals, and specialists and are used to determine whether teachers’ evaluations qualify them for these rewards. Some of these differentiated resources include:
- Performance Standards and Rubrics. Performance standards and rubrics clearly spell out the professional expectations for teachers and student service professionals and provide indicators of various levels of proficiency. ProComp has designed performance standards and rubrics for classroom teachers and specialists.
- Evaluation Forms. Evaluation forms are used as a tool to assess teachers’ classroom performance. To view ProComp’s classroom teacher evaluation form, click here.
Student Growth
Educators are rewarded for the academic growth achieved by their students. They can earn additional compensation in four ways:
- Student Growth Objectives. All teachers and specialists set two annual student growth objectives which outline their instructional goals for the year. Teachers receive a base-building salary increase of 1% of index for meeting both objectives or a one-time bonus of 1% of index for meeting one objective. To learn how teachers in the ProComp system set student growth objects, view the Student Growth Objective and Monitoring Process Handbook. This document guides educators through the objective setting process by providing background information about the purpose and structure of objectives as well as a timeline and samples of student growth objectives.
- Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP). Teachers who exceed expectations on the CSAP can earn a bonus of up to 6.4% of index.
- Top Performing School. Teachers working in schools designated “top performing” can receive a bonus of up to 6.4% of index.
- High Growth School. Teachers working in schools designated “high growth” can receive a bonus of up to 6.4% of index.
Market Incentives
Teachers can receive additional pay for working in the following conditions:
- Hard to Staff. Teachers in positions that are difficult to fill can earn a bonus of up to 6.4% of index.
- Hard to Serve. Teachers in schools that have a high percentage of students on free or reduced lunch can earn a bonus of up to 6.4% of index.
For a full description and breakdown of the four principles of the ProComp system, see the ProComp Payment Table.
The following resources provide additional information on ProComp.
- To learn more about ProComp, visit the ProComp portal of the Denver Public Schools website or watch an overview video of the ProComp system.
- The Teacher ProComp Glossary explains some of the specialized terms used in the ProComp system.