This paper presents results regarding the development, research, and evaluation of unique aspects of the Arizona Career Ladder Teacher Incentive Program. The first section presents a brief overview of the historical perspective of career ladders and teacher incentive programs. The second section, which describes the Arizona model, details its…

Arizona's career ladder teacher incentive program was established by the Arizona State Legislature in 1984 as a component of school restructuring efforts. A comprehensive and long-range developmental evaluation system is being developed for the restructuring program, but the program is at risk of being eliminated due to the negative influence of…

The Northern Arizona University Career Ladder Research and Evaluation Project for teachers implements a procedure for rewarding teachers based on performance levels rather than on years of teaching experience and college credits. Research data is collected each spring, analyzed and fed back to the districts for improvement of key program…

The Arizona Career Ladder Teacher Incentive Program, a pilot teacher incentive program, features: (1) successful collaboration among government, business, universities, school districts, and the teaching profession; (2) "stakeholder" initiated and monitored teacher development and performance evaluation systems with totally restructured…

This paper presents results from research and evaluation of the "Pilot Arizona Career Ladder Teacher Development and Incentive Program." The project, initiated by the State legislature, allows each local education agency to design its own plan. By 1989, the project will provide evidence for the legislature to make informed decisions…

A summary report of the first two years of the Arizona Career Ladder Research and Evaluation Project is presented. This program, established in 1985, included the formulation of the Joint Legislative Committee on Career Ladders, which provided oversight for program implementation and development. The pilot program seeks to determine if student…

In 1985 the Arizona Legislature established a 5-year Career Ladder Program for teachers. The purpose of the pilot is to determine if student academic achievement is enhanced through recognizing and developing high levels of teacher performance and through a "promotion system based on comptence". The overall research and evaluation…

Northern Arizona University's Arizona Career Ladder Research & Evaluation Project for teachers implements a procedure for rewarding teachers based on performance levels rather than on years of teaching experience and college credits. Research data is collected each spring, analyzed and fed back to the districts for improvement of key program…

Despite current interest with the concept of the "New American School" model discussed in "America 2000," school systems continue to approach educational reform and restructuring by tinkering with key organizational components in isolation. The total school organization requires assessment and profiling to determine which key components are drags…

The Center for Excellence in Education at Northern Arizona University has learned a great deal from the past 5 years of research and evaluation of 15 pilot-test school districts, as they endeavor to restructure and make positive changes. The purpose of the reform movement is to provide adequate incentives for recruitment, retention, and motivation…

Being a teaching professional is a complex task within the social and organizational context in which teachers work. A model, "Variability of Developmental Needs within a Teaching/Learning Situation," provides a visual picture of the wide variety of students, typically in the broad but "average range" of knowledge,…

The cooperative efforts of researchers and practitioners in building a model of essential teaching and classroom management skills as part of a process of educational reform are illustrated in this study by a local school administrator and university program directors and professors. The reform effort was part of the Arizona Career Ladder pilot…