Teacher Incentive Performance Award (TIPA), a five-year initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher Incentive Fund, sought to increase student achievement and strengthen instruction in the 30 lowest performing schools in Prince William County Public Schools. Implemented from 2010-11 through 2015-16, TIPA supported the efforts of schools to improve their effectiveness as measured by a diverse set of criteria.

TIPA's approach: TIPA was specifically designed to create learning environments that encouraged teacher collaboration, supported educator growth and development, valued parent and student feedback, and held educators and students to high standards. It also provided incentives that fostered collaborative school-wide improvement efforts. Specifically, the initiative:

• Provided "real time," tailored professional development to teachers and leadership support for the 30 TIPA principals.
• Implemented a performance-based compensation system combining student growth and achievement measures with 23 measures of school effectiveness, such as positive school culture, effective parent engagement, and teacher leadership.
• Awarded school-based compensation bonuses, with teachers in core subjects and administrators eligible for the largest awards.

CTAC's findings:

• TIPA led to statistically significant increases in student achievement in all four core subjects--English language arts, mathematics, science, and history--as measured by Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) test results.
• TIPA was planned and implemented with educator participation and ownership. The initiative's processes increased instructional feedback and reflection, collaborative dialogue among principals and teachers, and the use of data to inform instruction.

Download the full report, Getting the Pieces Right: Professional Development, Compensation, and School-Wide Performance, and read more about TIPA in this Education Week blog post.