HISD’s New Pay-for-Performance Model, Explained

After three years of development and implementation, Houston ISD is ushering in a new era of educator compensation with its Pay-for-Performance (PFP) model, becoming the largest district in the country to adopt this comprehensive approach.

Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, returning teachers will earn pay based on teacher effectiveness rather than years of service alone, with salaries ranging from $70,000—the highest starting teacher salary in Texas—to $101,000. 

The PFP model recognizes and rewards outstanding educators who make the greatest impact on student outcomes. Through the Teacher Excellence System (TES), HISD’s data-based approach to evaluating effectiveness, teachers receive regular coaching, actionable feedback, and clear expectations that help them strengthen instruction throughout the year. 

Williams Middle School teaching veteran Leonard Kelly said he has received ongoing feedback from campus administrators he’d yet to experience until recent years. 

"I've been teaching for 19 years, but I've never had anybody take the time to teach teachers how to do their job,” Kelly said. “Now, if we had a problem and we say, 'Show us how to do this,' [the principal] will come into our classroom and actually model it for us.” 

Every element of the new compensation model is designed around helping every student succeed. Recent findings from the Learning Policy Institute indicate that student learning is highest when schools retain effective teachers, provide meaningful coaching, and create strong working conditions.

HISD’s investment in all three areas has coincided with improved teacher retention and stronger student outcomes.

For Christina Aguirre-Oliva, principal of C. Martinez Elementary, one of the district’s first Future 2 campuses, instructional coaching is the foundation that makes both stronger teaching and higher student achievement possible, even in schools that have historically struggled.

“When as a principal or as an admin team, we are able to dedicate your attention to coaching, there's no way your teachers won't grow,” she said. “There's no way the instruction won't get better.” 

Recognizing Excellent Teaching

While a single yearly evaluation rating determines a teacher's placement for the first year of PFP implementation, subsequent years will base compensation on a two-year average. Each year, teachers will receive a TES summative rating calculated from the following components: 

• Quality of Instruction (45%): Monthly classroom observations that evaluate a teacher’s use of high-quality instructional practices  
• Student Academic Outcomes (30%): Student academic growth, measured by student growth or achievement and, where applicable, standardized assessment results
• Planning & Professionalism (15%) : Recognition of lesson planning, instructional preparation, and meaningful contributions to the school community 
• Campus Action Plan (5%): Collective success of the campus in meeting schoolwide goals 

Once summative ratings are calculated, ratings across the district are ranked from lowest to highest, and a target distribution is applied. A teacher’s position on that scale determines their effectiveness level, which in turn determines their salary under the PFP system.

The target distribution helps ensure effectiveness ratings remain meaningful and rigorous by differentiating performance levels across the district. This approach preserves the integrity of the system, prevents rating inflation, and ensures recognition and compensation are aligned with demonstrated impact.

For example, if a teacher’s summative rating falls in the 78th percentile, this means their data is higher than 78% of all other data in the set. 

HISD's performance-based compensation system is designed to recognize and reward teacher impact. By considering classroom instruction, student growth, professionalism, and contributions to campus success, the model captures the many ways educators help students thrive.

Unlike traditional compensation systems that reward longevity alone, this approach recognizes effectiveness and sustained excellence. Teachers who consistently demonstrate strong instructional practices and contribute to positive student outcomes have greater opportunities for professional recognition and increased compensation.

The result is a system that elevates great teaching, encourages continuous growth, and ensures that students benefit from having highly effective educators in every classroom. 

Another notable characteristic of the relationship between teacher evaluation and compensation is that the target distribution ensures that 60% of HISD teachers are identified as Proficient I and over, resulting in a pay of at least $80,000 for over half of the district’s teachers. 

New Education System (NES) and special education teachers earn a higher salary for their effectiveness level, depending on their assignment.

An additional $9,000 is awarded for teaching a core subject or special education self-contained classrooms or $3,000 for teaching an elective or special education inclusion setting.

Thousands of HISD teachers will see raises of up to $6,000 annually beginning with their first paycheck of the 2026-27 school year. Starting in the 2028-29 school year, teachers will become eligible for larger annual raises tied to their effectiveness ratings.

NES 1 teachers provide instruction in elective subjects, while NES 2 teachers teach core academic subjects. Similarly, SPED 1 teachers deliver special education services in inclusive settings, whereas SPED 2 teachers work in self-contained special education classrooms.

Because HISD compares teachers with peers working in similar contexts instead of requiring them to meet a fixed score, district officials said top-performing teachers will continue to be recognized based on how they perform relative to their district peers.

Multiple Ways to Earn More

Teachers who go above and beyond have another opportunity to be recognized. 

HISD’s highest performing teachers, based on middle-of-year Quality of Instruction and Student Academic Outcome data, are invited to participate in what’s known as a Distinguished Teacher Review (DTR) to unlock pay above $86,000.

Through DTR, teachers can earn up to 20 additional points by providing evidence of contributions to the profession, lifelong learning and/or leadership. Some examples of what earns DTR points are:

• Sponsoring student organizations 
• Participating in or chairing campus staff committees
• Serving as a mentor teacher to early-career educators

“DTR honors the things that teachers already do every day that most teachers aren't typically rewarded for,” Amber Daniel, Executive Director of Performance Management, said. 
During the 2025-26 school year, teachers invited to submit a DTR earned an average of 11.5 additional points to add to their overall TES Summative Rating.

Supporting Teacher Growth Every Step of the Way

By balancing accountability with continuous professional growth, TES supports a high-performance culture that empowers educators and advances educational equity across the district.

Every observation is grounded in a shared rubric, monthly feedback, and administrator training designed to ensure consistency across the district.

To ensure the model is applied consistently, only campus administrators who have obtained TES Evaluator Certification can appraise teachers. These are school leaders who complete an annual district certification process, which includes full-day beginning-of-year training and assessments, as well as middle of year re-certification and several certification maintenance activities throughout the school year.  

Chief of Schools Kasey Bailey said evaluators are trained to ground every evaluation in real-time evidence of student learning. Evaluators are taught to look for students incorporating academic language, explaining their work, and asking clarifying questions to demonstrate they are learning.  

"We remove our bias and make sure we are fairly evaluating our teachers so that we know no one is set up for an unfair evaluation," Bailey said. “The process is about the evidence, not the person".

Beyond the evaluation system, the district supports communication channels and feedback systems that allow the TES to remain fair and responsive for all teachers. 

HISD will continue its year-round Teacher Talk initiative, which trains a teacher representative at each campus to keep colleagues informed about the evaluation system while relaying campus staff feedback and concerns to district officials. This creates a feedback loop that ensures campus voices directly inform central office decisions.

“This two-way communication allows the district to understand how teachers are interpreting the new systems and provides the ability to adjust, pivot, and monitor based on on-the-ground information,” Daniel said. 

What Teachers Can Expect This Year 

Built-in safeguards help provide stability by limiting year-to-year changes in effectiveness ratings, offering temporary pay protection when ratings decline, and maintaining a salary floor for current certified teachers. 

For existing HISD teachers, an average of evaluations conducted by administrators during the 2025-26 school year will determine their salary for the 2026-27 school year. Teachers will then transition to a two-year rolling TES average beginning in the 2027-28 school year.

Teachers new to HISD will be hired at a starting salary depending on years of experience: 

• $74,000 for teachers with more than three years of certified experience 
• $70,000 for teachers with fewer than three years of certified experience, including uncertified teachers 

During a new HISD teacher’s second year in the district, or after receiving certification, they will receive a pay grade based on their first-year TES evaluation. During their third year at HISD, they will join the two-year average system.

Additional Outreach  

Campus administrators will serve as teachers’ primary point of contact for general questions about the PFP model.

Questions about TES Performance Levels should be directed to the district’s Performance Management Department at PerformanceManagement@HoustonISD.org.

Questions about compensation should be directed to a teacher’s area Compensation Coordinator at CompensationDept@HoustonISD.org.