The majority of teacher contracts in the State of Ohio are based on the traditional pay scale, rewarding teachers for educational level attained and years of experience. Performance-based pay is an emerging trend with 11 school districts in Ohio identified as having a performance-pay system in their negotiated agreement. This study utilizes Ohio's similar district methodology to identify the two most similar districts without performance-pay for each performance-pay district. This causal-comparative study compares these two groups by their student (performance index scores, value-added scores) and teacher (evaluation ratings) performance obtained from their local school report card. Data was analyzed utilizing t-tests of independent samples and t-tests of paired samples, with no significant differences between the two groups. The type of performance pay, as identified by Willis and Ingle (2016), were analyzed with regards to student and teacher performance differences. Performance rates are the type of performance pay that appears to have the most positive effect on student and teacher performance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]