Taxpayers shell out cash after school district boosts scores

In a high-stakes and closely watched wager, education officials in suburban Denver are landing millions of extra dollars from voters by keeping a promise to boost student achievement.

For 16 years, Jefferson County voters refused to raise taxes to pay for education, with critics saying the district was squandering too much money on administration.

In 1999, the 88,000-student district was $48 million behind similar districts in per-pupil funding, says superintendent Jane Hammond. So officials drew up the Performance Promise plan, and voters pledged to pay more in taxes if scores improved.

The district received a guaranteed $25 million, with a promise of an additional $20 million if the number of students scoring proficient or advanced on the Colorado Student Assessment Program Test increased by 25 percent over three years. Payouts were based on percentage-point increases in test scores.

"The biggest gamble was whether we would see much impact early on, or whether it would take three or four years to improve test scores," Ms. Hammond says.

The initial $25 million helped reduce class sizes, increase teacher training, and pay for additional coaches and tutors. Scores improved 7.2 percentage points from 2000 to 2001, earning the district $10.8 million that will be used to add coaches and teachers.

The Jefferson County results were dramatic when compared with other Colorado districts, with larger increases in reading, writing, math, and science scores.

Policy analyst Mike Griffith of the Denver-based Education Commission for the States says it is the first time he has seen a school district willing to risk funding to improve scores. "The problem for them will be continuing to improve those test scores.... If they don't get that bonus, they may have to lay some of those new teachers off."

Harold Seamon, deputy executive director of the National School Boards Association in Alexandria, Va., says he does not expect many others to try similar experiments because schools need stable funding.

Colorado Education Commissioner Bill Moloney says the challenge proves schools can find innovative ways to improve education. "They delivered. You can call it merit pay."